The Lost Civilization
by Albedo238
Summary: As Link journeys to lands beyond Hyrule, he gets caught in a struggle that will once again test his might and courage as the Legendary Hero. But he won't go it alone as he will make new friends... and be reunited with the lost members of his forgotten family. Minor tie-ins to Skyward Sword. Rated T for safety.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Taking place on a very rainy night, out in the middle of a vast ocean, we see a small rowboat carrying a person wearing a dark brown, hooded robe who is the one rowing the boat. Though it's hard to see in the dark, the right shoulder part of their robe is stained with blood and has a hole in the center of the bloodstain. Though obviously in pain from their wound, the person continues to row.

After a while, the person looks over their right shoulder as we can now see their face, which is of a man. From the shape of his face, we can tell he is a bit on the chubby side as it's rather round. He also has a round nose and underneath it is a bushy, black mustache. Patches of his black, curly hair can be seen from underneath his hood.

We then see what the man is looking at, which is a large mass of land that seems to have a raging fire occurring as we can see the glow lighting up the part of the night sky that is over it.

As we get another shot of the man's face, he starts to have a flashback:

* * *

Taking place in a large bedroom colored gold and white with an elegantly dressed bed that has a cream colored blanket on top of it, and carpeting with a mixture of red, green and yellow in an intricately designed pattern, there stands two men. One of the men looks to be the same man we saw in the rowboat, but we can see his full clothing which consist of a light blue shirt with a black vest over it, brown pants, black boots and a tan belt with a silver buckle that has three gold triangles on it, each set in place to form a bigger triangle. His black hair is rather curly and we see that the man is quite chubby.

The other man is a little taller than the chubby man and much more slender, though still quite built, but it's hard to tell since he's wearing rather heavy-looking gold armor on his body, covering almost every part of him except for his head, which has a gold headband going around the top of it. His hair is also black, but is straighter (though with some volume) and a little long as it comes down to the back of his neck. He's got a defined face with a black mustache and goatee. His armor is very well-designed as it has the head of a lion on the front of the breastplate. On the black belt around his waist is a sword in a gold and silver scabbard that is quite long. To top it all off, he's wearing a purple cape. Both this man and the chubby man have rather long and pointed ears, and very blue eyes.

The man in gold armor is looking at a pair of babies lying on the bed, each wrapped in a swaddling cloth colored brown. One is of a boy with blonde hair, and the other is of a girl with golden brown hair. Both of the babies look to be asleep.

"Brother..." says the chubby man. "...please, let me fight with you."

"You know very well that cannot happen, Joseph." says the other man. "We have to keep to the visions my wife has had recently."

Joseph then replies, "I know that very well, Gabriel, but you can't do this on your own! You could die out there without my help!"

"If destiny wills it..." says Gabriel with a solemn expression. "...not to mention if it means my children will continue to live on, then so be it."

"Don't say such a thing, brother." responds Joseph with a look of hurt. "Destiny willing or not, you should be allowed to live. And if destiny says that you must die, then all the more reason I have to fight with you to make sure that you don't."

Gabriel puts on light smile and says, "Your kind words do help me ease my mind about this, brother." But then, Gabriel looks at Joseph with a look of determination and, as he walks towards Joseph, he continues with, "But that does not change what must be done, or what is happening right now. Even as we speak, a vile miasma is coming from the desert of the Gerudo. A miasma so strong that it could choke the life out of even the most pure-hearted of individuals. You know what that means, don't you, brother?"

Joseph asks, "What?"

"Though you feign ignorance, Joseph, I'm pretty sure you already know what it means." says Gabriel. "He's returned. The dreaded demon that our ancestors and the Goddess, Hylia fought against so long ago. Demise has returned in a new form."

"Which means..." Joseph starts to say.

"He will be after my children." Gabriel finishes Joseph's sentence for him. "Yes, they are both in grave danger, as is the newborn princess."

Joseph then says, "So, this war for the Sacred Realm... it's nothing but a cover up for what Demise will really be after?"

"No, he's after the Triforce as well." Gabriel says. "But after being defeated by the Hero of Legend so long ago, he will be bitter towards those who carry his spirit, as well as the spirit of the Goddess that the Hero had united with. We all carry the blood of the Hero and Goddess, but as my wife has sensed, our children and the newborn princess are strong with their spirit."

"Do you think Demise already knows that they possess those spirits of the Hero and Goddess?" Joseph asks.

"I should hope not, but if he finds them, no doubt that he will try to slay them." says Gabriel. "For all we know, he's still primarily after the Triforce. Even so, we cannot risk the safety of the children."

Joseph then says, "The way you talk, brother, it sounds like you already know who the new form of Demise is."

Gabriel puts on a thoughtful look and replies, "It's just a hunch, but ever since with the new king, Ganondorf taking over the rule of them, the Gerudo race has become much more violent and destructive. It may be a hunch, but it's a strong hunch that he is the new form of Demise. After all, I did say the miasma was originating from the desert, did I not?"

"If that's the case..." says Joseph. "...then we have to let the people know what's going on!"

"As much as I would love to do that..." says Gabriel. "...I'm afraid we cannot. As Mystic Knights, we must keep the true secrets of Hyrule protected, even if the people might hate us for it. You should already know that by heart, brother."

Joseph replies with a sigh, "I do, brother."

"Then you also know what you must do to help preserve our peace." Gabriel replies back.

Joseph just solemnly nods to Gabriel.

Gabriel smiles, then puts his right hand on Joseph's left shoulder, following with him saying, "Do not worry so much, little brother. Though we may be withholding the absolute truth from the people, it is for the better of the kingdom of Hyrule, as well as the whole world we live on."

Just then, we hear the white bedroom doors open, and through them runs a very beautiful woman wearing a long dress of blue and white. Her blonde hair is like molten gold and is quite long, and her face has a soft paleness about it. Like both Joseph and Gabriel, her ears are long and pointed, and her eyes are a deep blue.

Gabriel takes notice of the woman that just came in, and says, "Sophia, is the royal family safe in the underground barracks?"

"Yes." says Sophia. "I just got word from the guard and they all made it there safely."

"Good." says Gabriel. "In that case, we can now begin the next task. You and Joseph know what to do, right?"

"Indeed, my love." says Sophia. "I am to take our son, Jason to the Lost Woods, where he should be able to be kept safe among the Kokiri."

Joseph then says, "And I'm to take Aryll away from Hyrule as far as I can. Hopefully, I can still find some boats docked at Lake Hylia."

"Alright, as long as you know what to do and can get it done, all should go with no problems to speak of." says Gabriel. "Since the battle is taking place in the main part of Hyrule Field, you should both take the secret exit out of here to make sure your escape goes according to plan."

"Right," says both Joseph and Sophia in unison.

After that, Sophia goes over to pick up the baby boy, which would be Jason, and Joesph goes to pick up the baby girl, Aryll.

As the babies are gently taken up in the respective arms of the persons carrying them, Gabriel goes over to Sophia, then looks down at Jason with a warm smile and says, "Jason... you're too young to understand the matters that are happening right now, and I hope you never have to learn them too soon, but one day, you will shape the future of this land, if not the entire world and others beyond it. Eventually, your strength and courage will be tested to the limit, and you will need to bring everything to bear if you are too succeed. Fear not, though, for you will be blessed with great power to help you in your trials across this land as the heavens have marked you to be the Legendary Hero. Because of that, magic flows through your very blood. Magic that will rid the world of tremendous evils that ordinary men could never vanquish. But, you must never forget that while you will possess such gifts from the gods, it is nothing if you don't possess the right amount of courage to do so. For that, never lose courage in what must be done. Though your first name is Jason, the people will know you by your other name, the name that the former Hero went by when he saved the world from evil. And when the day comes that the world must learn of your name, then your very birthright, the Master Sword will be awaiting you in the Temple of Time, but only when you truly need it. I regret that I may never see you grow up to be the amazing young man my wife has envisioned you to become... I will always be with you in heart. With that said, take care Jason... or rather... Link, the Legendary Hero."

Gabriel gives a soft kiss to "Link" on his forehead, being sure to not wake him up.

Afterwards, he turns to Joseph, then looks down at Aryll and says, "And Aryll... though it will most likely be a very long time before you are ever reunited with your brother, I know that it will happen one day. And when it does happen, help your brother the best you can. Because you are his twin sister, you too will possess special powers. One such power will allow you to see visions. They may not always be clear as to what each one might mean, but if you can figure them out, you should be able to aid your brother with even the most perilous of tasks. If you feel a vision, do not be afraid to let him know as it could save his life... as well as your own. The other will allow you to communicate with the heavens as you will allow your brother to gain knowledge and the ability to vanquish evil. While your brother has great power on his own, it may not always be enough if you don't share your strength with him, especially considering that the greater the danger, the more of your power he will need to make use of in battle. To that sense, you will become a translator for the heavens, taking their magic and letting your brother use it in your battles. Allow Link to use you has an unstoppable weapon in combat, and I guarantee that he will become an impenetrable shield for you, protecting you as you guide him in battle. Help each other, and I can assure you that it won't be long before Hyrule is on the right track to a glorious age of prosperity. Like I said to your brother, I am sad that I will not be able to see you grow up to see exactly what my wife has envisioned you to become, but I will be with you in spirit, now and forever. Be well and take care, my daughter."

Just like with Link, Gabriel gives Aryll a soft kiss on the forehead, though making sure to not wake her up.

Suddenly, a knight wearing a full suit of silver armor that covers all except for his mouth runs into the bedroom as he cries, "General Gabriel, sir!"

Gabriel, Joseph and Sophia turn to see the knight.

"What is it?" asks Gabriel.

The knight replies, "We've got big trouble, sir! The front gate has almost been breached! We can't hold them back much longer!"

"That's not good." says Gabriel with a look of worry on his face. "Go tell our men to steady themselves and prepare for battle! I'll be out there to join them shortly!"

"Yes, sir!" says the knight before he goes off to do his job.

"Joseph! Sophia! We haven't much time! I need to go out there and hold them off as long as I can for you two to make off with the children!" says Gabriel.

"Gabriel, my love, before you go..." says Sophia.

"What is it?" asks Gabriel.

Sophia approaches Gabriel, then says, "We may never see each other again, so just in case we don't, let me give you a parting gift."

Using her right arm to hold the baby Link, Sophia brings her left hand up to the side of Gabriel's head, then brings her face close to his as she slowly but passionately kisses him on the lips. Feeling her warm lips, Gabriel kisses her back.

After a while, they pull their faces back from each other and Sophia says, "Take care, my love."

"If you make it to your destination, Sophia..." says Gabriel. "...watch after our son closely."

"I will." says Sophia. "I promise he will make it safely."

They look into each others eyes and after that, they both go back in for another kiss, this time more intense than before.

As they get finished, they look at each other once more before Gabriel strokes his wife's face.

After that, he goes over to Joseph, grabs him by his shoulders, then says, "Brother... take care of my daughter with the greatest of your strength. Aryll is in your hands now."

"I will... brother." says Joseph.

"But don't forget to take care of yourself, as well." says Gabriel.

"I'm going to miss you, Gabriel Artemis." says Joseph after a bit of silence as he wants to cry, but tries to hold back the tears painfully so.

"I'm going to miss you, too, Joseph." says Gabriel before he wraps Joseph in a hug. Using his right arm to continue holding Aryll, Joseph hugs Gabriel back with his left arm.

After the two brothers finish their hug, Gabriel nods to Joseph, then turns and begins to run to the bedroom doors to exit the room.

Just before Gabriel can make his exit, Joseph says, "Brother!"

"Yes, Joseph?" asks Gabriel as he turns around to look at his brother one last time.

"I just wanted you to know that..." Joseph begins to say before he pauses. "...I did sense the miasma coming from the desert, as well as the return of Demise. But that just made me want to fight even more against them."

"I understand, brother." says Gabriel. "But you have to remember that this is not up to us. We don't possess the power necessary to vanquish it. But my children do, as my wife has foretold."

"I know that very well." says Joseph. "But it won't change at all how I feel about fighting for justice in this land."

Gabriel smiles, and says, "I'm honored to have you as a brother and fellow knight, Joseph. May we meet again in another life, my brother."

"Same here." says Joseph.

The two brothers smile at each other for a while before Gabriel puts on a serious look and says, "I better be off now."

Joseph also puts on a serious look and says, "Go!"

Gabriel nods once to Joseph, then turns around and runs out of the bedroom, never to be seen again by his wife or brother.

"I guess we'd better be on our way." says Sophia after a moment silence.

Joseph follows up with, "I should be out there fighting with him."

Sophia looks at Joseph and says, "I know, Joseph, but you heard what Gabriel said: this isn't up to us, but to the children. They will possess what's needed to destroy the evil of this world, so we must make sure they are kept safe until they are old enough to be able to vanquish it and many others should they follow suit."

"I know that." says Joseph. "But it doesn't make things any easier for me to accept."

Sophia smiles then says, "You're a good man, Joseph. Gabriel was and will always be fortunate to have you as his younger brother. So, I know he will be even more proud to have known you kept our daughter safe for him."

Joseph smiles somewhat and says, "I suppose you're right, Sophia."

Sophia nods softly to Joseph, then says, "Let us go now. I prepared a couple of steeds for us to take. I also prepared some robes for us to wear. I hear the weather is about to get really bad."

Joseph then says, "Guess we better hurry before it starts to rain, then."

"Indeed." says Sophia.

Both Joseph and Sophia begin to leave the bedroom, taking the babies with them.

* * *

After a while has passed, we see Sophia and Joseph just outside of the Castle Town walls, and a good distance away from the main fighting of the war. Each one is on their own respective steed, with Joseph's horse colored black and Sophia's horse colored brown. And each of them is wearing a dark brown, hooded robe. The sky is incredibly black as it looks to be ready to send down a massive downpour any second.

"So..." Sophia starts to say. "This is where we part ways, is it not?"

Joseph then replies, "It's hard to believe I may never come back to Hyrule for a long time. Despite its problems, I really do love this land."

"I know, Joseph." says Sophia. "But we are out of options at this point, and this is the only solution that we can think of if destiny is to set in motion."

"As Gabriel has been telling me for quite some time." replies Joseph. "Don't worry, though, Sophia. Aryll will be in good hands."

"I know she will be." says Sophia. "I wish I could take this time to say good-bye to her, knowing this could be my last moment on this world, but we have to hurry before we're noticed."

"Right." Joseph says back.

"Of course, if I do die..." Sophia continues. "Then I will be happy to have at least been able to live this short life as a mortal."

Joseph gives a single nod to let Sophia know he understands what she means by that sentence.

"Anyway." says Sophia. "We better be off now. Farewell, Joseph. I hope we can meet again on the other side of this life."

Sophia on her steed races off to the south where the Lost Woods lies.

"Godspeed, Sophia." says Joseph after Sophia is long gone.

Not wasting any time, Joseph looks to the west and begins to ride off in that direction.

* * *

After a long while of riding towards the west, Joseph suddenly hears a very shrill scream of pain coming from the far south. Stopping his horse in time to look back with a look of dismay and sadness, he knows whose voice that was.

"Sophia... no." says Joseph in thought as he wants to desperately cry right now as his face seems to be one of pain.

However, his personal sorrow is cut short when he sees several riders in the distance coming towards him, each armed with a bow. Not wasting any time, Joseph continues his ride to the west to reach Lake Hylia. As he does, the riders begin to fire arrows at him to stop his journey. While almost all of them miss, one manages to hit him in his right shoulder. Joseph feels a massive tinge of pain, but he rolls with the blow and keeps going. Despite his chubbiness, Joseph was a very strong man.

* * *

The flashback ends, and we're taken back to Joseph in the rowboat as he's still looking at the land of Hyrule, now covered in the flames of war, which the rain can't seem to even put out right now. Eventually, Joseph turns his head to look forward again and though it's hard to tell because of all of the rain, a single tear comes from his right eye. Joseph continues to row with all of his strength, despite the wound he received not too long ago when he was still in Hyrule.

After a long time of rowing, Joseph finally sees what could be land in the distance. Looking happy, he starts to row harder and harder so he can get to the land.

Eventually, he makes landfall, and as he does, he gets out of the boat while taking Aryll with him as she's still in her swaddling cloth. Though very dark, he can make out that he's on a tropical-type land as there are several palm trees and exotic plant life not found in Hyrule. And as he looks even harder, he sees a clearing through the jungle that resembles a road. Not worrying whether or not there is any dangerous flora or fauna out there, Joseph presses on with Aryll.

After a while of walking, Joseph happens upon a village and enters it to see it is filled with huts that are designed in a more nomadic fashion, or at least what we can make out in the dark of night and the constant rainfall. Getting far enough into the village, Joseph begins to look around and tries to call out for help, but unfortunately for him, he has lost a lot of blood from his wound and eventually, he starts to pass out. He slowly collapses nearby a hut, and he has does, Aryll falls out of his arms. Though she was in the swaddling cloth, the light fall doesn't hurt her, but the loud thud does wake her up and she starts to cry very loud. Everything then goes dark.

* * *

In the next scene, we get a first person perspective as a person's eyes open up to see a ceiling made from wood and straw. Sunlight comes through the nearby window which was what caused him to wake up. After that, we can see the person whose eyes were opening was that of Joseph as he's in bed, and is waking up. Removing the sheets off his body, we can see he's not wearing his shirt or vest, and his shoulder has been bandaged up where he received the wound as he checks it. Surprisingly, he's not feeling any pain at this point, but still feels quite woozy.

"Ah, it's good to see you're awake." says a feminine voice.

Joseph looks to see an incredibly beautiful woman to his right. Her long hair is a scarlet red that looks like it belongs to a Gerudo, her skin has a mild tan complexion, her ears are pointed like a Hylian's, but they seem shorter and her eyes are a bright amber instead of blue. She's wearing white robes with black trim as well as bits and pieces of green and yellow that crosses in front and covers almost her her whole body save for a small portion of her cleavage, her ankles and most of her left leg, and is held in place with a black sash. And she's wearing white, sock-like coverings on her feet that don't cover the very front or very back of the feet, leaving them exposed. She looks to be carrying a brown tray with a red and white ceramic bowl of food, which looks to be soup (as well as a spoon).

"Did you help me?" Joseph asks the woman in a groggy tone.

"Not alone, but yes, I did." says the woman. "Anyway, I figured you'd be up soon, so I prepared some food for you. You must be hungry."

"Thank you." says Joseph with a small bit of a smile. "Just set it down. I'll get to it eventually."

The woman sets the tray on a nearby table.

Just then, Joseph gets out of bed and tries to sit up, showing us he's also not wearing his boots.

"Careful, sir." says the woman in a concerned tone. "You don't want to reopen your wound."

"Did you take care of it?" asks Joseph.

The woman smiles and says, "Yes, I did. It's an old remedy of my tribe, carried down from generation to generation."

"Well, thank you again." says Joseph.

Just then, a tall man with tan hair that's long and tied into a ponytail with an orange headband around his head, a pencil-thin mustache, short-sleeved, nomadic-style shirt colored orange and yellow, orange wrist-bands, white pants and orange sock-like wear similar to what the woman was wearing comes in. He's followed by a small boy of three who has turquoise hair with a red headband around his head, red nomadic robe that covers his whole body and red sock-like footwear, also similar to what the man and woman are wearing. Like the woman, they both have shorter pointed ears than that of a Hylian and have bright amber eyes, as well as a mild tan complexion.

"Well, it's good to hear you're up." says the man with a pleasant smile on his face. "Luckily, my wife knew exactly what to do to patch you up."

"I suppose you were the one to carry me in?" says Joseph as he can see the man is quite muscular.

"Indeed, I was." says the man. "Please, call me Takumo. I am the chieftain of the village of the Mor'qai. The woman that nursed you back to health is my wife, Nakima. And the little boy with me is our son, Danorli."

"Well, I thank you again for saving me and..." says Joseph before realizes that Aryll isn't with him. "Wait a minute! Where is Aryll? Where is my niece?"

"Relax, my friend." says Takumo. "Your niece is in my wife's and my bedroom. She's sleeping soundly. I was tending to her before coming in here. Everything is okay."

Joseph breathes a sigh of relief and says, "Thank you, sir."

"No problem at all." says Takumo with a big smile.

"Anyway..." says Nakima. "You must be really hungry now. Why don't you eat?"

"Yes, and if you don't mind..." says Takumo as he pulls up a chair and sits in it. "I'd love to hear your story on how you got here. It's not everyday the Mor'qai village gets a visitor from the outside world, or at least one not native to our land."

"Well... I suppose I have all of the time in the world, so I'll tell you." says Joseph.

After a while has passed, we see the bowl of soup is empty.

"And that's how it goes..." says Joseph's voice.

We then get a shot of Joseph talking to the ones who saved him.

"So..." Takumo starts to say while putting on a thoughtful pose. "Your land was embroiled in a massive war. Am I getting that right?"

"Yes." says Joseph with a great deal of sorrow in his eyes. "And according to my brother's wife, she said that her vision told her that their son and daughter must be raised separately from one another if destiny is to set in motion, as well as assuring their survival. That's all I can tell for now. As a Mystic Knight, I am sworn to never reveal the major secrets of the kingdom of Hyrule, nor the world."

"Hrmmm..." says Takumo. "Well, given the hardships you've been through, as well as the fact the tragedy of not being able to be with your brother or his wife again... I'd say you've definitely earned a free stay in our village."

"You really mean that?" asks Joseph.

"We Mor'qai possess the ability to see when people are being honest or not." says Takumo with a smile. "And from the look of your eyes, honesty is pouring out of you. I think we will be fine in having you and your niece stay with us in our village as long as you'd like until you feel it's best to return home."

Joseph has a warm smile appear on his face as he says, "Thank you so much. You don't know how much we need this right now."

"I have a feeling you need it a lot." says Takumo. "Of course, I apologize already if what you will be living in doesn't compare to living in a castle."

"Don't worry." says Joseph. "At this point, anything sounds good."

Takumo nods and says, "I'll get some of my men to help me in building a hut for you to live in. Until then, you just take it easy in here."

"Thank you, again." says Joseph.

"Welcome to our village, Joseph of Hyrule." says Nakima.

To Be Continued in Chapter 1.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

[18 years later]

Joseph steps out of a nomadic-style hut and into the morning sunlight wearing his usual attire. It appears he's aged a little as his face now looks older, and the lower sides of hair are now grey. Though still considerably chubby, he appears to have a lost a little weight. It appears that Joseph is looking for someone seeing the gestures of his head.

"Aryll!" says Joseph out loud. "Where are you, young lady?"

After a while, we hear a feminine voice say, "Here I am, Uncle Joseph."

Joseph turns to his left to see a very lovely girl of 18 squatting down on the edge of the roof of his hut. Her golden brown hair is long and is tied into a couple of ponytails on the lower sides of the back. Her light blue, short-sleeved, nomadic-style robe covers most of her upper body, save for a little of her cleavage, but not so much on the lower body as it ends in a couple of loin-cloths that cover her groin and rear-end while the whole thing is tied with a brown sash. The loin-cloths are not too short to be covering but at the same time, not too long to become a bother (though unknown to us right now, she is wearing a white, bikini-style undergarment underneath said loin-cloths). She's also wearing light blue gloves that are fingerless and sock-like footwear that exposes the very front and back of her feet. Like Joseph and those of his ilk, she has long, pointed ears and deep blue eyes. She's carrying a long bow and nicely designed quiver full of arrows.

"Aryll." says Joseph with a look of relief, yet dismay as well. "Where have you been this whole time?"

"Just out doing some morning target practice, followed by bathing in the lake." says Aryll. "I'm sorry if I worried you, Uncle."

Joseph then follows with, "That's fine and all, but you do know that this is the day Danorli is to have his ascension ceremony, right?"

Aryll hops down to the ground and says in an annoyed tone, "I know, I know, Uncle. I wasn't going to forget about it at all."

"Well, you can't blame me for wondering, now can you?" asks Joseph.

"I suppose not." replies Aryll.

"So, did you eat breakfast this morning?" Joseph asks.

"Yes, I did, Uncle." says Aryll rolling her eyes slightly, though having a pleasant smile on her face.

"And you sure you bathed properly?" asks Joseph.

"Uncle!" says Aryll now getting a little irritated as Joseph is now approaching taboo territory.

"I need to know these things, Aryll." says Joseph. "I want you to live a good, strong life, okay?"

"I understand, Uncle." says Aryll. "But it doesn't help that I feel like you baby me a lot."

"Maybe I do, but it's for your own good, okay?" says Joseph. "I know you're a free spirit, but even free spirits like you need to know to be cautious every now and then."

"I am, Uncle Joseph." says Aryll. "I don't plan to end up losing my life THAT soon."

"I know, sweetheart." says Joseph. "Anyway, let's go and see if Danorli and Takumo need any help, okay?"

"Right." says Aryll with a perky smile.

"So, put down your bow and arrows, and let's head off." Joseph responds back.

After Aryll does what she's been told, she heads off with Joseph to find Takumo and Danorli.

* * *

As the two of them enter the heart of the village, many of the villagers greet Joseph and Aryll in a very friendly manner, and the two of them greet the villagers back also in a friendly manner.

Looking around the village, we can see everyone is getting ready for the big ceremony as some are decorating the village, thus making it look very colorful with all of the banners, tinted lamps and tapestries. There are others putting some structures together and painting them various bright colors that are respecting of the tribe's ways, such as red, orange, yellow and white, which are the colors of the other decorations that are set all over the village.

"Wow, this will be our first ascension ceremony to take part in, won't it, Uncle?" says Aryll.

"Yes, it will be." says Joseph. "We've known Danorli since he was growing up alongside you, but with the respect he's managed to earn from the village, no one is more deserving of becoming the next chieftain than him."

"Too true." replies Aryll.

After a bit of walking, the two hear a familiar voice call to them, saying, "Ah, glad to see you could make it for the preparations."

Joseph and Aryll looked to see Takumo walking towards them with a pleasant smile on his face. Though dressed in his usual attire, he looks a little older as his hair tinged with strands of silver in it and his face appears to have aged a bit.

"Well met, Takumo." says Joseph. "Sorry for a slight tardiness on our behalf, but Aryll went off on her own again, and I was trying to look for her."

"It's no problem, my friend." says Takumo. "Just the fact you could join us is more than enough."

"Oh, Takumo, always looking on the bright side of things." says Joseph.

Takumo chuckles then says, "Well, it comes with the territory when trying to be a strong and caring chieftain, which I hope carries on well over to Danorli tomorrow."

"I'm sure it will, Takumo." replies Joseph. "He has a great father to thank for that, after all."

"Thank you again, Joseph." says Takumo. "But I can't really shake off the fact I'm still nervous as all hell."

Joseph jokingly says, "That too shall pass."

Both men chuckle at the same time.

"Speaking of Danorli..." chimes in Aryll. "...can I go see him, Takumo?"

"Oh, sure!" says Takumo. "I believe he's still with Nakima right now getting his ceremonial robes ready."

"What about you?" asks Aryll. "Shouldn't yours be ready, as well?"

"Aryll!" says Joseph. "That was rude! Whether he's got done with his part of the ceremony or not is his business!"

"Oops!" says Aryll. "I'm sorry, Uncle."

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Takumo." says Joseph.

Takumo laughs a bit, then says, "It's alright, Joseph. I'm happy to answer her question. I got my robes finished last night, that way I could spend time trying to observe the ceremony preparations."

"Alright." says Aryll. "But I'm still sorry."

"No apologies necessary." says Takumo. "You were just curious and aware of things. That's good to know. It means you've done a good job picking up on the traits of the Mor'qai."

"You really think so?" asks Aryll.

"Absolutely!" says Takumo. "Anyway, you better get moving if you want to see Danorli in his robes before the ceremony."

"Alright, thank you." says Aryll before she runs off to see Danorli.

"Be on your best behavior now, Aryll!" says Joseph before Aryll is all the way gone, to which she replies, "I will, Uncle! Promise!"

Takumo then stands next to Joseph on his right as both men look at Aryll running off to the chieftain's hut, then he says to him, "Still trying to adjust to not living in a castle after all of these years living with us, I see."

"It's not that, my friend." says Joseph. "I know that Aryll has only known this place her whole life, and because of that, she's already picked up on the traits of the Mor'qai, but I still want her to be well-mannered should she ever return to Hyrule. I don't say that to be rude to the Mor'qai, but more that I'm worried on how the people of Hyrule will accept her, especially her own kind."

"Well, some might say you are being rude..." says Takumo. "...but I will be the first to admit that we may not be the most savory of people given our carefree lifestyles and animalistic traits, all of which Aryll has quickly picked up on ever since she was raised among my people."

"If it's any consolation..." says Joseph. "...at least you all are better behaved than the Gorons, and... well, you are probably some of the most pleasant and tolerant people to live with. Sometimes, I wish there were Hylians that were that nice to be around."

Takumo, though still smiling, gives Joseph a look and says, "Sounds more like a full-blown compliment than a consolation if you ask me."

"Thank you for that." says Joseph.

"Anyway, shall we get you started on your task to help us prepare for the ceremony?" asks Takumo.

"I guess so." says Joseph. "Let's go ahead and get started."

After that, the two men walk off to get things underway.

* * *

Meanwhile, we're taken to the chieftain's hut where Danorli and Nakima are. Danorli is now 21 and his turquoise hair is longer as it reaches his upper back, making it longer than Takumo's, but he still wears a red headband. Nakima is in her usual attire, but while it would be rude to say she looks older (which she really doesn't), her face does appear to be slightly more mature. Nakima is working on the robes that Danorli will wear for his ceremony, which he's wearing right now as Nakima needs them to be a perfect fit for him. The robes are white with intricate gold etchings done in a tribal fashion, and just about cover his whole body, save for his head (obviously) as well as his hands and feet. Though Nakima spends a lot of time squatting down to get every inch of the robe sewn, it's obvious to tell that Danorli is taller than her.

"Geez, mom." says Danorli. "We've been at this forever. When am I going to get a break?"

Nakima sighs and says, "When I'm finished, son. Now be still, so I can get this robe sewn up properly."

Danorli sighs himself and says, "I know this ceremony is important and all, and I do want to be chieftain. But, along with thing making me look silly, no offense, I'm also getting all sweaty and stuff just wearing this thing. The fact it's late in spring doesn't help matters either."

"I know." says Nakima. "I wish we could have this ceremony another day or season, but you knew it's customary to have the ceremony for the aspiring chieftain on his or her birthday, so I can guess you can blame me for giving birth to you during such a hot time of the month."

Danorli blushes then says, "Well, I wouldn't go that far in my complaint. You are my mother, after all."

Nakima giggles then says, "I'm just teasing, silly."

"Oh!" says Danorli before he puts on an innocent smile. "I was... teasing, as well."

"Surrrrre..." says Nakima not quite believing her son.

Just then, a knock at the door occurs.

"Oh, someone's here!" says Danorli as he snaps his head in the direction the sound came from.

"Be still, or I might accidentally stick you!" says Nakima.

"Oh, sorry!" says Danorli going still as a board.

After that, Nakima says, "Come in!"

As a short moment passes, we see Aryll walk into the room where she sees the mother and son doing their preparations.

"Hey, Danorli. Nakima." says Aryll in a friendly tone.

"Oh hi, Aryll!" says Danorli as he turns his head to look at her.

"I said don't move!" says Nakima, now getting a little flustered with her son. "Be as straight as you can be!"

Danorli turns his head back forward as he gives a frustrated grunt. This makes Aryll giggle, which in turn, makes Danorli blush.

"So, that's the robe you'll be wearing, huh?" Aryll asks.

"Yup." says Danorli with an embarrassed look while not turning his head. "I look pretty ridiculous, don't I?"

Aryll giggles again and says, "Yeah, kinda."

Danorli just gives a sigh.

"Well, I think you're going to look really handsome. Not that you aren't so, already." says Nakima. "Just don't move too much. Speaking modestly, my sewing is some of the very best in this village, but don't push its durability, okay?"

"Gee, and I was thinking of doing some hunting and wrestling with the guys while in this thing." says Danorli in a smart-ass tone, to which Nakima replies in her own sarcastic manner, "Ha ha ha ha ha. Very funny, Mr. Comedian."

Aryll just laughs and says, "You two are just too much when together like this."

Danorli blushes, and Nakima says, "Thank you. We'll be here all night."

Aryll just laughs again, then says to Danorli, "Well, if the tradition goes like it's supposed to, then you will most likely be partying all night while in that, won't you?"

"That's AFTER the ceremony has taken place." says Nakima. "We just need this intact before and when the ceremony is to happen."

"So, are we almost done?" Danorli asks while becoming impatient.

"Just... one... more... area..." says Nakima who then takes care of it, then says. "And... that should be it!"

"Phew, finally!" says Danorli. "I'm free until sunset from this thing!"

"Right, well just be careful while taking it off, mister." says Nakima.

"Understood." says Danorli as he gently lifts up on the robes to take them off. As he gets them off, we see him wearing a red, short-sleeved, nomadic-style shirt, along with brown pants, red wristbands and red, sock-like foot-wear that does not cover the very front or back of his feet. Danorli hands the robes to his mother.

"Comfortable, now?" asks Nakima in a semi-snarky tone.

"Yeah, sure am!" says Danorli not caring about mother's slight snarky remark. "I was sweating so much wearing that thing that any longer, and I'd be smelling like a Borken rodeo."

"How charming to think about." says Nakima putting on a slightly disgusted look.

"Oh, come on, it couldn't have been that bad." says Aryll. "As silly as you looked, it was cute kind of silly."

"No, but it felt like it." says Danorli. "Anyway, was that all you wanted to see me for? Just to see how I looked in those robes?"

"Partly." says Aryll. "But mostly, I thought we could hang out together with our friends while preparing for the ceremony."

"Sounds good to me." says Danorli. "Let's go! We'll see you around, mom."

"Alright, son." says Nakima. "Just don't have too much fun before the ceremony."

"Don't worry, I'll have energy to burn for that." says Danorli before he and Aryll walk out of the hut together.

Nakima just looks at her son with Aryll, and smiles about what she sees.

* * *

Afterwards, we see both Aryll and Danorli leaving the chieftain's hut to see about hanging out today and finding what they can do to get things ready for the ceremony.

"Man, what a pain that was!" says Danorli. "I mean, it may not be the attitude befitting the role I'm to take on here soon, but it didn't change the fact that was torture in some way or another. I wonder if my dad was the same way when he was getting ready for his ceremony?"

Aryll just laughs a little.

"Come on, it's not funny." says Danorli with a frown.

Aryll replies, "Actually, it somewhat is. I mean, as hard-working of a guy you can be and will have to be when you become chieftain, I often forget how much of a pampered prince you can be when it comes to dealing with stuff like that. I mean, we've heard stories of actual tortures and what you went through wouldn't even count as one of them."

Danorli just grunts then says, "I suppose you're right about that, but it certainly felt like it on my end."

"Believe me, Danorli..." Aryll starts to say. "...you've got it pretty easy when it comes to your family. For me, my Uncle has always been trying to baby me for as much as I can remember. Always making sure I have no cuts and bruises to speak of, if I taken care of my person hygiene, not too hungry, not too full, that I'm getting the right amount of sleep... it's just one thing after another with him."

"I see what you mean." says Danorli. "He may care about you, but that does tend to push it a good bit, especially considering you're 18 now, and should be very well capable of fending for yourself."

"Exactly." says Aryll. "And yet, he still hounds over me so much. And I know it's the fact that he's doing this for me because of the fact my parents are probably gone, thus making sure I don't suffer the same fate. But, it just gets so aggravating at times, and considering the fact that I'm old enough for these things to not matter so much, it doesn't make things between me and Uncle Joseph any better."

"Does sound like you've got it bad." responds Danorli. "Especially considering your uncle hasn't learned to be a little more loose now that he's living among us, unlike you."

"Well, aside from my uncle..." Aryll starts to say. "...the Mor'qai are all I've ever known when it comes to people I live among. I wonder what my parents were like back then? Where in Hyrule did they use to live? What type of persons were they? Did I have any siblings back then? There's so many questions I don't think I'll ever have answered, and yet, I feel that my Uncle is hiding them from me."

Danorli looks at Aryll in a pitiful way.

Aryll sighs and follows it up with, "Danorli, do you think I'll ever find the answers to my questions one day?"

"Hmmm." says Danorli. "To be as honest with you as I can, I'm only going to say I don't truly know, and I probably never will."

Aryll sighs again then says, "Doesn't really make me feel any better."

"Well, if that's the case, I will say that even if you never find your answers, I know for a fact that my people and I will always be there for you, Aryll. No matter what." says Danorli with a big smile.

Aryll looks at him, and sees the smile that Danorli is giving her. Given her obvious feelings for him, Aryll knows that the kind of smile he's giving her could easily melt her heart as Danorli was as good-looking as he was genuine and kind (give or take a few quirks). And yet, all she could do at this point was to smile back at him.

"Thanks, Danorli." says Aryll wishing deep down she could kiss him in some way.

As both Danorli and Aryll look at each affectionately as it was obvious how he felt about her, they both hear a voice that shouts, "Danorli! Aryll!"

The two stop walking and look to see some young adult Mor'qai running towards them, which consists of two guys and two girls.

Both Danorli and Aryll smile as they see the Mor'qai coming towards them.

"Hey, you guys!" Aryll shouts as her and Danorli wave to what could be assumed to be their close friends.

As the group of four approach Danorli and Aryll, we see very well what they and their garments look like. One of the girls looks to be as old as Aryll as she's a little taller than her, has burnt orange hair done up in a unique fashion and a bright face, wears a purple, nomadic-style, coat-like robe that starts to open right just above her belly button and forms a tail that reaches down to the back of her calves (plus, the top is open a bit so a little of her cleavage is exposed, and the sleeves come down just a little past her elbows), black short shorts, purple fingerless gloves and purple Mor'qai footwear (the same sock-like footwear worn by Aryll and the other Mor'qai so far).

The other girl is a little shorter than the first one, but still taller than Aryll. She looks to be about 17, has dark green hair that's a lot like Danorli's in fashion and length and has a brown and orange headband around it and a calm looking face, wears a brown and orange, swimsuit style bodysuit that's cut low enough for her cleavage to be visible a little bit, a white wrap around the waist that comes down to the top of her thighs, brown and orange fingerless gloves, all finished off with matching Mor'qai footwear. Her and the other girl were lovely, but not quite as much as Aryll was.

As for the guys, the first one is a very tall (taller than Danorli at least), large, built young man of at least 19 years with a face that's both gentle and tough, has maroon hair that's a little messy but not too much, wears a short-sleeved, sea green, nomadic-style shirt, white pants, sea green wristbands and sea green Mor'qai footwear.

The other guy looks to be about 20 has he has blue wavy hair that comes down to his neck and a matching goatee, all going well with his laid-back face. He's shorter than Danorli by just a small amount (though still taller than Aryll). He wears a black, short sleeved, nomadic-style shirt, white pants, black wristbands and black Mor'qai footwear. Though both he and the other guy weren't bad-looking, Danorli was easily more handsome than both of them combined.

"It's good to see you guys." says Danorli with a smile.

Aryll chimes in to say, "Yeah, we were about to find you four."

"Guess it's good that we bumped into one another, then." says the girl with burnt orange hair with a giggle.

The big guy laughs as he approaches Danorli, puts his left arm around the back of his neck with his hand on Danorli's left shoulder and says, "Here he is, folks! The man of the hour! How do you feel, man?"

"Pretty nervous, man." says Danorli. "But you of all people, Corzan, should know I was that way as this day was approaching pretty fast."

Corzan bellows a laugh and says, "Yeah, I guess I should. Sorry man."

"Yeah, don't need to make the guy more nervous than he is." says the shorter guy as he comes near Danorli to put his right arm around his back. "No unnecessary pressure put on our future chieftain here. Bet he's already got enough on his plate, dontcha', Danorli?"

Danorli chuckles a bit and says, "You're not really helping all that much, Jimaru."

"Hey, lighten up." says Jimaru. "I bet the whole ritual will be no sweat whatsoever."

Danorli sighs and says, "I can only hope. I bet my dad is as nervous as I am. At least, one could hope for that."

The burnt orange hair girl says, "It's so cute when you get so nervous like this, Danorli."

"Come on, Renara..." says the shorter girl. "...we don't need to make things tougher for him already. I'm sure you will be great Danorli, both at the ritual and as our new chieftain."

"Thanks, Zitrini." says Danorli. "Unfortunately, with the way I'm feeling, such compliments only put more pressure on me."

Renara gives Zitrini a look and she says, "You were saying?"

Zitrini just gives an innocent smile.

Aryll laughs a good bit, then says, "Alright, you guys, no more pressure on Danorli. Let's just focus on having some pre-ceremonial fun today now that we're all together."

"Aryll's right." says Jimaru. "Let's not worry about the ceremony until it actually begins."

"So, what should we see about doing?" asks Renara.

"Well..." says Aryll to start off with. "Aside from needing to get the ceremony preparations done, I thought we could just hang out together since we don't want to burn ourselves out before the party begins."

"Sounds good to me." says Corzan.

"Yeah." replies Zitrini. "So, what part of the preparations should we start on?"

"Well, starting off..." Aryll begins to say. "How about we..."

Just then, we're cut away from what Aryll is saying as we see them from a distance from the perspective of someone looking at her and the others through a telescope. The view then moves to other places around the village.

Afterwards, we see the person looking at them through the telescope as they're completely covered in white armor, except for the head. Because this person is looking through a telescope, we can't see their face that well, but we can tell the person is a man.

"What do you see?" asks a voice filled with a certain amount of vanity.

"Looks like they're preparing for a festival of some type." says the man looking at them through a telescope.

"Excellent." says the voice full of vanity.

Just then, we see several other men in white armor (this time, we see each of their breastplates are marked with a gold griffon), all with varying hairstyles as they seem to be readying various weapons, such as swords, shields, maces, axes, lances and crossbows. They all seem to be preparing for some type of attack, and a grand one from the looks of it. All of the men look Hylian as they all have longer pointed ears than the Mor'qai and deep blue eyes.

"So, I wonder what these Mor'qai are like?" asks one of the men.

"I hear they're like animals in nature when they fight." says another man.

Another man chimes in to say, "Yeah, though very peaceful, they supposedly get vicious when you attack them, or at least when they ready themselves for battle."

"If that's the case..." says another man. "Won't this be a death trap if we try to attack them?"

"We'll soon find out." says the vain voice. "Won't we?"

The other men look at another man sitting on a stump. He appears to have light purple hair, is wearing white robes with bits of gold and platinum on them (also marked with a gold griffon), as well as blue trim. He's also holding a staff that's solid gold with bits of platinum decorating it. Though he looks Hylian from how long his ears are, he's extremely pale even for a Hylian. He almost looks to be meditating as he has his eyes closed.

"So, what do you know about the Mor'qai, Lord Bastille?" asks a man in white armor.

"A lot of things." says Bastille. "But nothing to truly worry over. Just another group unclean mongrels that we shall soon purge from this world. But until then, you all know what this invasion of their village is really for, right?"

"We know, milord." says a man. "And you can be sure that we'll succeed."

"I know you will." says Bastille. "You are some of the best men I've had to do such tasks as of late, fighting valiantly for such a noble cause. I know you all will not fail me."

Another man nods and says, "You can count on us, Lord Bastille."

"Good." says Bastille. After a while, Bastille says to himself in thought, "With this, we'll be one step closer to the ultimate goal I have for this world. Very soon, all unclean races on this world will be wiped away. Only the Hylians shall remain in this world, and shall be the ones to bring heaven and earth together."

Bastille then opens his eyes to reveal them being deep blue like those of a Hylian, and bears his teeth in a sinister fashion.

To Be Continued in Chapter 2.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

As Aryll, Danorli and their friends help with the preparations, we see Aryll, Renara and Zitrini work on getting up some tinted lamps, tapestries and banners while Danorli, Corzan and Jimaru are helping with setting up the structures. As they get done with their tasks, they all talk among one another.

"I think everything is looking really good." says Aryll. "This is going to be one colorful place when night time comes around."

"Certainly will be." says Zitrini. "Considering that this is to be our first ever ascension ceremony to attend, I can only hope this will be as great as the others of the past."

"Hey, don't sweat it, Zitrini." says Aryll. "With people like us helping with this ceremony, there's no way it won't be better than the ones of the past."

Zitrini giggles a bit and says, "I suppose you're right."

"Of course, Aryll's right!" says Renara coming up to them. "With us around, there's never going to be a dull moment during this ceremony!"

"You said it!" says Aryll with a giggle.

All three girls giggle together.

Just then, a elderly Mor'qai gentleman wearing nomadic-style robes with the colors of dark purple, red and green approaches from the left of the girls. He has a slightly long beard of white, is bald on top with the remaining hair going around his head. He's also hunched over a bit as to show he has a weak back. His robes don't completely cover his Mor'qai footwear, which are dark purple.

"Ah, not bad, ladies." says the gentleman. "Considering this will be your first ceremony, you seem to have a nice touch knowing how to decorate this place for such an event."

"Thank you, Wiseman Valk." says Aryll. "With this being Danorli's ceremony, we just want to make sure it's a grand one."

Valk laughs a bit, then says, "And a grand one it's going to be, alright. Oh, I've known you two ever since you met and became good friends, young Aryll. You were always a friendly child as you got along with everyone easily, but you and him just seemed to really hit things off from the very beginning."

"Well, he has known me very well since I was a baby, according to my Uncle." says Aryll.

"Yes, I know." Valk continues to say. "I was there when his family helped your Uncle to settle down in this village when you and him first arrived. I remember he used to love playing with you when you were so small back then. It was so cute especially when he gave you such playful kisses, and I also remember how upset he got when he couldn't play with you after having to leave. Oh, Danorli loved everyone, but you were truly special to him."

"Yeah." says Renara in a tone as she gives Aryll a sly look. "It's no wonder Aryll is wanting to work so hard to make sure Danorli's ceremony goes without a problem."

"Huh?" asks Aryll. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, don't play coy." says Renara. "We all know the truth, Aryll. Don't we, Zitrini?"

"Mm-hmm." says Zitrini as she just nods with her eyes closed and smiling.

"The truth?" asks Aryll again. "Just what is the truth that you know about me?"

"It's really obvious." says Zitrini opening her eyes to look at Aryll.

"What? Tell me!" Aryll demands.

"If you're not going to admit it, then we'll just have to come out and say it." says Zitrini.

Renara then adds in, "You and Danorli like one another."

"Well, no duh!" says Aryll. "He is my best friend, after all."

"No." says Renara again. "You really, REALLY like one another."

"And I really, REALLY like him as a friend." says Aryll.

"No offense, Aryll, but you stink at being ignorant." says Zitrini.

"Indeed." says Renara.

"Get to the point, then." says Aryll though she already knows that they know as her heartbeat has been increasing from all the lying she's done. "How exactly do I like him? You trying to say I like him more than just as a friend?"

"Bingo!" says Renara. "We're talking like 'boyfriend & girlfriend' level of liking one another."

Knowing she's busted, Aryll still tries to play innocent as she says, "What? That's ridiculous! Danorli and I are just good friends, that's all. How can we...?"

"Aryll." interrupts Zitrini. "Just don't."

Aryll just puts on a look that let's them know she's been beaten.

"It's that obvious?" asks Aryll.

"Don't see how it couldn't be any more obvious." says Zitrini.

"Exactly." says Renara. "We've seen how you two look at one another when the other is or isn't looking back. They're the same looks you've given one another since you've been kids. It's so obvious that I think even you and him must at least know how you feel for each other."

"Don't deny it, Aryll." says Zitrini. "You heard Wiseman Valk a while ago. The connection that you and Danorli developed for one another was a special one. He's been a great guy to all of us, but to you, I think he'd go to the ends of the world if you happened to have disappeared all of a sudden just to find you."

Aryll blushes brightly, then looks at Valk and says, "It's obvious to you as well, Wiseman?"

Valk just laughs a bit, then says, "Oh, I think it's not just us who know how obvious it is in how you and Danorli feel for one another, but to the rest of the village, especially both his father and your uncle."

Aryll blushes again, but brighter this time.

"And frankly, their couldn't be a more perfect match between you two." Renara adds in. "I mean, he's gorgeous, you're gorgeous. He's kind-hearted, you're kind-hearted. He's talented, you're talented. You see? Perfect match all-around."

Aryll then says, "Yeah, it sounds like it would be... except for..."

"Except for what?" asks Renara.

"Well, it's about our difference in races." says Aryll. "He's Mor'qai and, according to my uncle, I'm Hylian."

"And this means...?" Zitrini asks.

"Well, aren't interracial marriages looked down upon by you guys?" asks Aryll nervously as she taps the ends of her index fingers together.

"I will admit..." Valk starts to say. "...interracial marriage for the Mor'qai is unheard of as the last marriages for several generations have been between two Mor'qai... but I wouldn't say we'd necessarily look down upon it."

"What do you mean?" Aryll asks.

"Aryll." says Valk. "You have been to your lessons where you've learned about the prejudice us Mor'qai faced concerning other races due to our more animal-like nature when hunting, fighting and becoming active, right?"

"I remember." says Aryll. "And yet, despite all of that, you all vowed to never be as prejudice as the people who scorned you with racism, right?"

"That is correct." says Valk. "And do you remember why?"

"Because of how normally peaceful you all are?" asks Aryll.

"Correct, again!" says Valk. "Because while we can be vicious warriors to those who try to do us harm, we also believe in not spreading hatred, for that can quickly become like an illness that just infects more and more if people let hate take over them. And then, when enough hate has taken over, where will it truly end? No one will be safe from one another, not even from themselves."

"I do remember that very well." says Aryll. "Which is why you were so kind to my Uncle and I when he arrived here with me."

"Exactly." says Valk with a big smile. "Now, don't you think something as silly as being mad over two different species marrying is really worth worrying about?"

Aryll smiles then says, "I suppose not. Thank you, Wiseman."

Valk chuckles through his smile and says, "Anytime, child."

"So, knowing all that..." says Renara. "...are you going to see about trying to go steady with Danorli?"

"Hey, don't rush me!" says Aryll. "Just because I now know that it's alright that I can go steady with Danorli doesn't mean I'm not any less nervous about it."

"We know." says Zitrini. "But you can't be nervous about it forever. You got to make your move some time down the road."

"Precisely." adds Renara. "Time won't wait forever, so take your time, but make sure you act upon your feelings."

Aryll turns to look at Valk, who then says, "I would give some wise advice at this point, but I'll just say for right now... what they said."

Aryll just sighs and says to herself in thought, "They're right, and I think I know a good time to do it. I'll ask him at the ceremony tonight during the party. No more holding it off. It's time to take a stand and let Danorli know how I feel."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the same time that was going on, Danorli, Corzan and Jimaru finished putting up the structures for the ceremony.

"Not bad, you guys." says Danorli. "I think we did a pretty good job."

Jimaru replies, "Yeah, we sure did."

"Man, I can't wait for the ceremony to begin now!" says Corzan. "It's going to be a blast!"

"After the work you boys put into this, I would certainly hope so." says a feminine voice.

The guys turn to their right to see a Mor'qai woman of at least 25 years of age in appearance come towards them. She's wearing a nomadic-style head dress colored yellow and dark blue, a matching bandeau that covers her breasts yet still shows some of her cleavage, black short shorts with a matching semi-skirt type piece of clothing colored yellow and dark blue that covers her butt and hips, yellow and blue fingerless gloves, and yellow and blue Mor'qai footwear. Of what we can see of her hair, it's platinum white, which goes well with her complexion which is a slightly darker shade of tan than that of the common Mor'qai. She appears to be carrying a large basket with her with a small white cloth on the top.

"Hi, Erisa." says Danorli. "What brings you by?"

"Your father said you'd most likely be helping with the preparations, as would your friends." Erisa says. "So, to thank you for that, I made some my grandmother's famous pastries using her old time recipe."

"I assume that's what's in your basket?" asks Jimaru.

"You betcha!" replies Erisa. "I made a good few with all kinds of fillings. I have ones filled with fruit-filling such as strawberry, pineapple, blackberry and mango, as well as others filled with chocolate and even some filled with cream cheese. And each one is sprinkled with a little cinnamon and sugar."

"Oh man, that's awesome!" says Corzan. "Just what we need after such a job!"

"That's right, dig in boys!" says Erisa.

Wasting no time, Danorli, Corzan and Jimaru each get a pastry to eat. The pastries look like little ovals of baked dough sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar over almost every part of it.

Danorli gets a pineapple one while Corzan has a cream cheese pastry, and Jimaru takes a bite of one with blackberry.

"So good!" says Corzan while in the middle of a bite of his pastry.

Jimaru says, "You're not kidding, man."

"Truly delicious, Erisa." says Danorli. "It's amazing you have time to do this and still train to become one of my bodyguards when I become chieftain. Doesn't the training take its toll on you?"

"Don't underestimate my strength and resolve, Danorli." says Erisa.

"I'm not." Danorli replies. "I'm just saying I hope you won't be taking on too much, that's all. Just gotta' show concern for my people."

"I understand what you're saying." says Erisa. "But don't worry too much, I'll be fine. The honor of serving as your bodyguard will more than make up for the hard work I'll endure, and I ensure you that even after all of it, I'll still find time to do my baking."

Danorli nods and says, "Good to know."

Jimaru finishes his pastry and says as he goes back to the basket, "That was good! I hope I can get a strawberry one now!"

"I made enough, but save some for the ladies, okay?" says Erisa

"We will." says Jimaru.

"I know I'll be sure to save some chocolate ones for Aryll." says Danorli. "She loves chocolate the most when it comes to sweets."

"Oh, Danorli!" says Corzan as he slaps Danorli on the back, almost making him drop his pastry. "Always doing what you can to please that cute girl, huh?"

"What are you talking about?" asks Danorli looking at his friend with a puzzled expression. "I'm just making sure she'll get to have some of her favorite flavor of sweets, that's all."

"Sure you're not trying to woo her?" asks Jimaru with a sly look on his face.

"What?" asks a surprised Danorli. "She and I are just friends, and nothing more!"

"Not what we've been seeing between you two." says Jimaru.

"And what pray tell have you been seeing between us?" asks Danorli.

"How you like to look at one another in the eyes." Corzan starts off. "How she seems to be checking you out, and how you check her out. How you're always blushing when you seem to have a moment going on that might get slightly intimate."

Though Danorli knew they were telling the truth, he still denies it by saying, "You know nothing of what's going on."

"Oh yeah, then why is your face so red?" asks Erisa.

"Don't you start joining with them, Erisa." says Danorli still trying to play it like he's innocent in this whole matter.

"Just saying that it's kind of hard to ignore these signs." says Erisa. "Especially considering how the whole village knows about your interest in Aryll."

"That's preposterous!" says Danorli though he knew it was true. "What? Is it like the whole place is keeping an eye on just Aryll and me?"

"Not really." says Erisa. "Just that you're not good at keeping these things unknown and private between you two."

"Yeah." says Jimaru. "Besides, the last few times Aryll bathed in the lake, weren't you taking a peak at her from a distance?"

Danorli puts on a look of surprise that lets them know he's been caught red-handed.

"Now that you mention it, Jimaru, I think he was." says Corzan with a smile.

"No way." says Danorli with a downtrodden look on his face. "You all know about that?"

"Ooh, Danorli, you naughty little boy." says Erisa as she waves a finger cutely at him with a smile while using her other hand to hold the basket of pastries.

"Man, and I didn't think anyone would ever pick up on that." says Danorli.

"Well, it's hard to see why you wouldn't." says Corzan. "She's got a cute face and a heavenly body, on top of having an amazing personality. Aryll's just about damn near perfect. There are even actual Mor'qai women in this village that are all amazing, and even they don't compare with the looks she has."

"Exactly!" says Jimaru. "And I know for a fact she's also attracted to you, but then, you are just about the most eligible bachelor in this village, so why not take the plunge with Aryll?"

"Do you... do you guys think Aryll has noticed me peaking at her while bathing in the lake?" asks a very embarrassed looking Danorli.

"I kind of doubt it." says Corzan. "And yet, I get this feeling that even if she did know, she wouldn't really mind it."

"Yeah, and in fact from how much she's into you at this point, she'd probably like it if you watched her bathe." says Jimaru. He then playfully nudges Danorli with his right elbow and says, "Probably might even want you to bathe with her at the same time."

"Gee!" says Danorli now more embarrassed than ever while also perturbed at the same time. "You guys know how to make this all so easy on me."

"But that's why you have to go for it." says Erisa. "Knowing what we also know about Aryll, she's either waiting for you to make the move, or if she's smart, she'll try to make it first."

Danorli just gulps as he's really blushing brighter and brighter.

"So, if you're smart..." Jimaru starts off again. "...you'll try to make the move yourself, hopefully before Aryll can."

"You're all making this sound like it's a race or something." says Danorli.

"In some ways, it sort of is." says Corzan.

"Well, if you guys really want me to go through with this..." says Danorli. "...and Aryll likes me just as much, then... I guess I'll do it."

"That's the spirit!" says Jimaru.

Erisa then asks,"So, when do you think you'll confess to her?"

Danorli thinks for a minute, then says with a smile, "I know! I'll tell her later tonight, during the party. After we dance and have some fun, I'll tell her then."

"Sounds good." says Erisa. "That will be perfect."

"Very well!" says Danorli. "Tonight, I'll tell Aryll that I want her, and hopefully, she'll accept."

"And we'll be there to support you both, buddy." says Corzan

"Thanks, you guys." says Danorli

"Anyway, let's go give the girls some of my pastries." says Erisa.

"Yeah, let's." says Jimaru.

After that, the four of them head off to meet with the other girls.

* * *

Soon after, the guys and Erisa have met with the other girls, and they start walking together (Valk has long left the group to tend to his own business) while eating some of Erisa's pastries.

"Wow, this is so good, Erisa!" says Aryll. "Good to know you thought to make a few ones with chocolate in them."

"Yeah, I figured you might like to have a few to eat since we know you like chocolate a lot." says Erisa.

"Especially Danorli here." says Jimaru.

"Huh?" asks Aryll with a surprised and embarrassed look.

"Knock it off, Jimaru." says Danorli quietly to his friend.

Jimaru just chuckles, as does Corzan.

After that, as they continue walking together, they look to see that just about all of the preparations are finished, and that they now have only to wait until sunset for the ceremony to begin.

"Man, I can't believe we finished so quickly with the preparations." says Renara

Zitrini chimes in to say, "Yeah, and it all looks so spectacular as well."

"Yeah, at this rate, what could possibly go wrong?" asks Corzan.

As Aryll is about to take another bite of her pastry with a smile on her face, her smile becomes a look of shock as she gasps and opens her eyes wide. Just then, a flash of white occurs. After that, we get a scene that looks like some type of cave painting that depicts people in what looks to be village, but the whole thing is animated. The people look to be dancing and having fun, but just then, a picture of a giant monster that resembles a gold griffon comes in, and starts to attack the people and the village. Pictures of huts get set on fire, and people are killed in droves. As the griffon roars victoriously over the destruction and death it has caused, another flash of white occurs.

We're taken back to Aryll, who has now fainted and collapsed, and is being held by Danorli, who shakes her a bit to wake her up. The others are kneeling down near Aryll to see if she's alright.

"Aryll, wake up!" says Danorli as he tries to shake her back to consciousness.

"I hope she's alright." says Zitrini.

"After fainting like that?" asks Renara. "I doubt it very much."

After a bit of shaking, Aryll starts to come to as her eyes open a little and she looks around her, then up at Danorli.

"Wha... what happened?" asks Aryll.

"Oh, thank goodness." says Danorli with a sigh of relief. "You fainted on us. I hope you're not hurt or anything."

Though she's a little embarrassed to be this close to him, she says to Danorli, "Oh, is that what happened?"

"Yeah, you gave us a big scare." says Corzan.

Aryll then rubs her forehead with her hand and says, "Wow, I've got a headache for some reason."

"Are you going to be alright?" asks Erisa.

"I don't know." says Aryll. "All I remember is I had this weird dream, but I couldn't make it out. It was a village of people. They seemed to be having fun. A lot of fun... until this monster came and destroyed their village and killed them all. It... it even seemed to enjoy the onslaught it caused."

"What kind of monster was it?" Danorli asks.

"It was a... griffon. A golden griffon." says Aryll. "That's all I remember."

"A golden griffon?" asks Jimaru.

"I think it was, but I'm not too sure." says Aryll. "Ow, my head."

"Can you stand?" asks Danorli.

Aryll replies, "I think so."

Aryll then stands up with Danorli helping her up so she doesn't fall. The others stand back up as well seeing that Aryll now seems to be okay, despite her headache.

Just then, we hear Joseph's voice say, "What's going on here?"

They all look to see both Joseph and Takumo coming towards them.

"Father! Joseph!" says Danorli. "Aryll fainted, and now, she's got a headache."

"Oh, that's not good." says Takumo with worry.

Joseph then asks Aryll, "Are you going to be okay, sweetie?"

"I think so." says Aryll. "But I think I might need to go lie down before sunset comes." She turns to her friends, and asks them, "You guys won't mind, will you?"

"Of course not." says Renara.

"Yeah." says Jimaru. "While Danorli's ceremony is important, your health is also just as important. You go get some rest, okay?"

Aryll smiles through her pain, and says, "Thanks, everyone."

After that, she walks to Joseph, who then says, "Come on, sweetheart, let's go get you in bed for right now."

As Joseph and Aryll begin to walk back to their hut, Takumo calls out to them and says, "We'll come get you both when sunset arrives."

"Thank you, Takumo." says Joseph. "We'll see you soon."

"Right, see you soon." says Takumo back to Joseph. "You get plenty of rest, Aryll."

"Alright, I will."

"Well, there went our day of hanging out together." says Corzan in a disappointed tone.

"You know, Corzan..." Jimaru starts to say. "...think before you ask what could go wrong next time. Otherwise, something might just go wrong."

"Oh, sorry." says Corzan.

"I wonder what that was all about?" asks Zitrini. "That's never happened to Aryll before. She's usually a lot tougher than that."

"I don't know." says Danorli. "I just hope it never happens again."

* * *

Meanwhile, as Joseph and Aryll are walking together, Joseph turns to Aryll and asks, "Headache still bothering you?"

"A little." Aryll says. "This has never happened before. I hope I'm not sick or anything."

"I don't know." says Joseph. "You do push yourself a lot, which worries me to death at times. You might just be."

"I hope it's nothing serious." says Aryll. "The others said I fainted, and when I woke up, I remember having this strange dream."

"A dream?" asks Joseph.

"Yeah." says Aryll. "The whole thing was like a drawing. A giant gold griffon comes and attacks an innocent village which was in the middle of a celebration or something. It killed and destroyed everything in its path. And... that was the end of it."

Joseph's eyes widen a bit.

"I wonder what that dream meant?" asks Aryll. "Do you know, Uncle?"

"Uh, well..." says Joseph trying to put a straight face back on. "...it was probably just a dream. No need to worry about it for right now."

"I hope so." says Aryll. "I don't know what we would do if such an attack occurred during Danorli's ceremony."

"I'm pretty sure it will all be fine." says Joseph with a smile.

Aryll smiles back at Joseph. But then, as the two look away from one another, Joseph puts on a look of worry and says in thought, "This dream she had. It sounded like a vision of destiny. The kind that Sophia envisioned that she would have when it came time to vanquish the forces of evil. But... why now? It's too soon for her to be having such visions. Unless..."

To Be Continued in Chapter 3.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

After Joseph has taken Aryll back home, we see Takumo walk into a hut that looks to be designed like the rest of them. However, when he gets inside, there are no other items or rooms to speak of as it's entirely one big empty. Just then, Takumo squats down as he opens a secret door within the floor of the hut, and as he does, a large, stone staircase is revealed. As Takumo begins to descend the stairway, he closes the door above him, and then he continues to walk down. The staircase seems to be lit well with many torches on the walls.

Afterwards, we see a room made entirely of stone, save for a set of iron bars that have a room containing an ornate chest of red with gold designs in it sealed up. Torches and lanterns light the room, making it a little brighter than the staircase was. Standing by the iron bars are two Mor'qai men that seemed to be dressed to guard the room that is sealed up by the iron bars. Both of the men are wearing armor that seems to be a mix of knight armor and samurai armor. One is wearing black armor over white clothing and the other is wearing white armor over black clothing. Each one has a katana-like sword in a scabbard colored dark blue hung by their waist, and each one is also holding a spear-type weapon colored red and silver (both of the men are holding their spear in their right hand). Both of the men kneel on their right knees with their left hands on their left knees, and bow their heads when Takumo comes in their presence as they show him respect

"Gentlemen." Takumo addresses the men. "As you were."

Both men stand back up into their original stances.

"So, I trust the artifact and scroll are safe?" asks Takumo.

"Yes, Lord Takumo." says the man in black armor. "All is well."

"Good." says Takumo. "But, if you don't mind, I need to make sure there has been no tampering with them. So, if you men don't mind...?"

"Yes, Lord." says the man in white armor. "We shall let you pass."

Each of the armored men presses a brick in the wall behind them, pushing them further inward into the wall. As they do, the iron bars open, thus allowing Takumo access.

"Thank you." says Takumo.

Takumo then walks through the opening. As he reaches the chest, he opens it up and lifts the top of the chest all the way back. As he looks inside of it, he gives a calm smile about what he sees.

After a while has passed, getting a shot of the two men guarding the room, Takumo walks out of said room and he says, "Alright, close it back up."

"Yes, Lord." says the two men as they then press the bricks they pressed before again to seal the room back up with the iron bars.

After that, the man in white armor says, "Pardon my asking you, Lord Takumo, but is that all you came in here to do? To check the items?"

"Part of it." says Takumo. "I also came down to here to tell you two that my son's ascension ceremony is to begin tonight."

"We know that, Lord." says the man in black armor. "And we know what you want us to do."

The man in white armor speaks again saying, "We shall give our new chieftain, Lord Danorli all of the support in the world that we've given you for so long, Lord Takumo."

"Thank you, both." says Takumo. "Until then, make sure that no one touches the scroll and artifact. Understand?"

"Yes, Lord." says the two men.

After that, Takumo nods to them, then he exits the room via the staircase.

* * *

Meanwhile, taking place at Joseph and Aryll's hut, Aryll is in her room while lying down belly up on her bed, which has a light brown blanket on it. Despite what she suffered from a while ago, Aryll isn't sleeping but just staring at the ceiling of straw and wood. As she does this, she starts to think to herself about what she just went through a while ago.

"The dream I had." she says in thought. "I know I shouldn't worry about it... and yet, why do I feel like it was hiding some ominous message about the future? The village that was attacked by the monster... why do I get the feeling it was representing the village of the Mor'qai? And why would i have it now? I hope this is just mere paranoia that I'm feeling."

Suddenly, Joseph walks into Aryll's room to meet with her. As he sees her lying on her bed, he says to her. "Hey, sweetheart. How's your head feeling?"

Aryll looks at Joseph, and smiles and says, "Oh, much better now. Thank you for asking."

Joseph smiles as well, then says, "That's good to hear. I'm sorry you had to suffer from such a thing."

"That's okay, Uncle." says Aryll. "It's not your fault that this happened to me. It just did."

"Yeah, well..." Joseph starts to say. "...I feel in some way that it is."

"What do you mean?" asks Aryll with a slight expression of puzzlement.

Joseph, going over to sit beside Aryll on her bed, knew what the real reason was, but he gave another answer by saying, "I am responsible for you and your health. While I know I'm not your dad, and I know the Mor'qai have been treating you like family ever since you came here, I am the only remaining member of your family you've got, so... I feel like I have to work harder than before to make sure you're taken good care of."

"I know you do." says Aryll. "And even though you do like to act overprotective at times, you do a real good job of it. And I'm proud of you for that. I just wish you wouldn't baby me so much."

"I know, Aryll." says Joseph. "But that's because..."

"Because, what?" asks Aryll.

"Because, it's... how I was raised." says Joseph somewhat lying to Aryll while stroking her hair on top. "I was raised to be very cautious and aware of things. My parents took more liberties with my brother... your father, and while he became a brave and strong person easily, he also took a lot of risks... most of which got him hurt in the end."

"I never knew that." says Aryll.

"Yeah, well..." Joseph starts to say. "While it may be hazardous, it also brings a joyous tear to my eye to see you inheriting his spirit in some way. Makes you really remind me of him, and because of that, I can tell he's never really going to be gone from this world."

Joseph looks about to cry, and Aryll says to this, "You're not about to cry, are you, Uncle Joseph?"

"Oh, don't worry, sweetie." says Joseph. "I'll be fine."

"Oh, okay." says Aryll as she looks away from Joseph and back at the ceiling.

"But yeah." Joseph starts to say again. "Because of your father taking so many risks in his life, my parents chose to be more careful with me, trying to teach me good basics to live a strong life. Because they were, I too felt a bit babied myself, like I always had them looking over my shoulder from one second or the next."

"Wow." says Aryll as she looks back at Joseph. "And for a minute, I thought you never understood what I went through with you back during the morning."

"Live and learn." says Joseph. "But I will admit that, over time, being cautious grew on me and I accepted it as part of nature as my mind developed more. I still wished to be as strong and brave as my brother was, but I always asked myself whether or not the risks were worth it. I knew some risks had to be taken, but others, I tried to use my brain more to get around things while my brother relied more on his muscle and skill."

"You make it sound like you and my father were fighters to some degree." says Aryll.

Joseph, trying to find a way to not admit the truth to Aryll, says, "Well... I guess you could say we were fighters. We definitely stood up to injustice and wouldn't tolerate it when the innocent got hurt in any way. And if we had to do it, we would venture forth into the land to stop injustice wherever it may have been occurring."

"Now, you make it sound like you were knights of some kind." says Aryll.

Joseph, tilting his head to his left a little, says, "Maybe we were in some sense. Mostly, I think we just like to think of ourselves as true heroes, and nothing more."

While Aryll doesn't quite believe him, she lets him off with that one as she says while looking back at ceiling, "I wish I got to know my father, as well as my mother. I wonder what they were like?"

Joseph looks at Aryll, who then goes to lie on her left side. As she does, the ends of her loin-cloths fall to the bed, revealing her white, bikini-style undergarments. He then rubs the side of her right leg gently and says, "I know, sweetheart. I wish you could have known them like I did."

Aryll puts on a solemn look and says, "I know I should feel like I have everything in this world, being with you and the Mor'qai. But... in truth... I feel so alone in this world, never having known my parents. I see every Mor'qai that's either a child or around my age, and the love they get from their parents. I wish I had that, myself."

Joseph then puts on his own solemn look and says, "I'd say I understand, but... I'd be lying to you." He then says to himself in thought, "Yeah, like I haven't done that enough already."

Aryll then says, "Of course, I wish that was the only thing I was suffering from, but there's another unexplainable pain I'm going through."

"What's that?" asks Joseph.

"I can't explain it very well." says Aryll. "But there's like this big, empty feeling in my heart that tells me something is missing from my life, and I don't know if I'll ever find out what it is."

Joseph then asks, "What kind of feeling?"

"I don't know." says Aryll. "It's like a... missing half of me. It feels like I'm incomplete without this thing beside or with me. Yet, I can also sense that it's still out there, waiting for me to find it."

Joseph thinks to himself, "She must be talking about her brother, Jason. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. After all, they are twins."

"I hope I find what it is that will complete me." says Aryll. "I don't want to feel alone in this world like I already do."

A single tear falls out of Aryll's left eye, and into her pillow.

At this point, though he couldn't see her cry, Joseph knew Aryll was in pain and he had no words to console her at this point.

Just then, we hear Takumo's voice call out, "Joseph! Aryll! Sunset is about to arrive!"

Both Joseph and Aryll put on surprised looks, with Aryll sitting up and both of them looking in the direction that Takumo's voice came from.

"Already?" asks Aryll as she wipes her left eye.

"Guess we better hurry, then." says Joseph. "Let's go."

After that, both get off of the bed with Joseph first, followed by Aryll. After that, both Aryll and Joseph go to leave their hut.

* * *

As we can see sunset approaching fast, people are gathering in the village streets, the tinted lamps are being lit up to show the bright colors each of them are and a music group seems to be getting their instruments ready, which consists of flutes, ocarinas, bongos and lutes, and there are even a few people that are most likely singers as they seem to be tuning their voices, so they can sing for the ceremony.

As Aryll and Joseph arrive in the streets, Aryll's friends see that she's come and they go over to her.

"Hey, Aryll." says Renara. "Are you feeling better after your episode?"

"Oh, tons better!" says Aryll in a perky mood. "All I needed was to lie down a bit, and that took care of everything."

"Good to know." says Corzan with a smile.

Jimaru then asks, "So, ready for the main event?"

"Sure am!" says Aryll. "I hope Danorli's fairing well himself."

"Knowing him at this moment..." says Erisa. "I bet he's sweating enough bricks to build a house with."

Aryll giggles and says, "Yeah, probably."

"I know Takumo has got to be the same way." says Joseph. "With a ceremony like this, no way he wouldn't be."

"All I can say I'm glad I don't have to take on such a responsibility like Danorli's got to." says Aryll

Joseph knew she would have to be taking on a bigger responsibility than what even Danorli would, but he just smiled with Aryll.

"Hey, let's go find a place close to the area where Danorli's ascension is to take place." says Zitrini.

"Right." says Aryll. "Be nice to give Danorli some support from close up."

"Let's go then!" says Jimaru.

After that, the group of young friends and Joseph go to get closer to the main area.

* * *

Meanwhile, off in a more remote area of the village, Nakima is tending to Takumo and Danorli, who are now wearing their robes. Takumo's robes look similar to Danorli's, but they are colored black with a purple design on them. In addition to this, Takumo is also wearing a necklace of jewels with a large circular pendant in the middle colored silver with a multicolored jewel right in the center of it.

"Nervous, son?" asks Takumo to Danorli.

"Like nothing else." says Danorli. "I can see you've got a few beads going on your face, as well."

Takumo laughs a bit, then says, "I can't keep anything like that from you, can I?"

"Well, truth be told, dad." says Danorli. "I was hoping you would be as much of a wreck as I am."

Takumo laughs again, and says, "Probably more of a wreck than you are, if you ask me."

"I think you two are going to do great out there." says a reassuring Nakima. "You two look very dashing."

"Thanks, mom." says Danorli.

"I may be nervous." says Takumo. "But, it pales in comparison to the amount of pride I feel for our boy."

Danorli and Takumo smile at each other.

We then hear Valk's voice go, "And a great amount of pride you should have for you son, Lord Takumo."

Takumo, Nakima and Danorli look to see Wiseman Valk come towards them, only along with his usual clothes, he's wearing a funny-looking hat that is colored white with red tribal designs on it and a fur on his back that looks like it belonged to some type of Wolfos. Around his neck are what look to be some type of prayer beads, but not as Asian looking as those from our world.

"Good to see you're ready as well, Wiseman." says Takumo.

"Oh, I may be old but even these frail bones know where their loyalties lie." says Valk jokingly.

Takumo laughs a bit, then says, "Good to know."

"Anyway, sunset is arriving, so we'd better hurry." says Nakima.

"Right you are." says Valk. "In that case, you'd better hurry back to see if the band is ready to play."

"I'll go check on that now." says Nakima. "I also need to make sure the food is all set."

"Okay, you go do that." says Takumo.

"I'll be waiting for you to arrive on the stage." says Nakima. She then gives Danorli a kiss on his cheek and gives Takumo a quick yet passionate kiss on the lips. She then rushes off to see if everything is ready.

* * *

After that, we're taken back to the heart of the village where the band is now playing music fitting the mood of the ceremony about to take place. Nakima checks on the food, and everything looks good to her so far as nothing is out of order. And the villagers, including Aryll and her friends, as well as Joseph, are all waiting with anticipation for the big moment to begin.

After a while, on the large, wooden stage at the end of the area, Valk appears on it, which lets the people know the ceremony is officially beginning.

As the band sees Valk on the stage, they stop playing and singing.

Just then, Valk speaks out loud, saying, "Welcome everyone! Welcome to the ceremony of ascension for Danorli Madoru, the man soon to be our next chieftain of the village of the Mor'qai!"

Everyone in the village applauds as they've all been looking forward to this moment.

After everyone stops applauding due to the hand gestures from him, Valk then continues to say, "Yes, I know it will be a glorious... glorious moment for us all when such a noble, talented and caring young man such as Danorli Madoru will become our new chieftain! But... let us take the time to remember and reflect on the wonderful moments we had under our former chieftain and the father of the chieftain-to-be, Takumo Madoru, and the wonderful things he brought to this village! I remember Takumo well when he was a small boy, back when I was aspiring to become this village's Wiseman. He was a very spry boy, very energetic and rebellious! He was a great fighter, a skilled hunter, an accomplished athlete and, most of all... a fierce friend to us all. Naturally, he can tell you these stories and more later tonight! I'm just hoping this isn't sounding too much like a funeral!"

As Valk laughs a bit, so do the rest of the people of the village.

"But, back to my point!" says Valk. "When Takumo turned 21 and his time to ascend his mother, Shonra came, I asked him, 'Takumo, what do you want to do for your people that no other chieftain before you, that not even your own mother has done before to make people remember you so well?' Well... I clearly knew that, from the get-go, Takumo was not a man who would mince his words, and from hearing him speak... I was right! He said to me with the straightest face possible, 'Valk... after everything that the chieftains of the past, including my own mother have done for this village, I don't know if I'll ever be able to live up to them. But, I won't know until I find out on the job, because that's the only way I'll know what I really want for my people is through the experience I will gain from being chieftain of the Mor'qai. Anything I say now at this point would be irrelevant, because who's to say that I'll even be able to live up to what I vow to do early on, and risk not doing so?' And from those words of his, I knew from the bottom of my heart... this man... a man so wise for even his age at the time... he was not only the chieftain we needed... but... he was the chieftain we deserved to have! This was a man that knew that the job of being leader would be a hard one, and that it wasn't going to be perfect! But, at the same time, he also knew that only by actually doing the job can we know what should and must be done! That's the only way we'll ever learn! I think we can all agree on that!"

The people in the village applaud Valk again after such a rousing tale.

After quieting the people, Valk goes back to talking as he says, "Now, imagine my surprise that I should hear almost those exact same words from his son when his time of ascension came! For that, I was not only proud to call Takumo my chieftain... but also to call him a true sage of wisdom that made me look like I needed to do more studying! It is because of that reason we need more people like them to lead us, for it is people like them that will shape our future based on the experiences they will gain from their position by listening to us and our more heartfelt demands! And because Takumo's wisdom has carried well to his son, I know I shall be proud to call Danorli chieftain, as well! So, without waiting any longer, let us have the ceremony of ascension! Band, will you please play in both the former chieftain and the chieftain-to-be?"

Doing as Valk requested, the band begins to play a melody and the singers sing with them.

* * *

Back in the remote area of the village, we see Takumo and Danorli waiting anxiously to get up on the stage.

"That's our song." says Takumo. "You ready, son?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." says Danorli.

After that, both of them begin to walk forward to the stage.

* * *

Going back to the stage, we see both Takumo and Danorli walk up to the stage, with Takumo on the left side of the people watching and Danorli on the right side.

"There they are." says Nakima as she's watching beside Joseph and Aryll, and looks to be about to cry out of pride for her son.

Both father and son stand at least a coupe of feet from one another. As Takumo and Danorli turn to face one another, the band and singers stop at the request of Valk. Then, Valk takes a small sack from his belt that we didn't notice before and starts to sprinkle some glowing dust in the center between Takumo and Danorli while chanting some words we can't make out what they are. As he sprinkles enough dust in an intricate pattern, we can see it forms a circular shape.

After getting done with that, both the dust sprinkling and chanting, Valk puts away the sack and then he steps onto the circle of glowing dust. He then looks at Takumo dead in the eye as Takumo has struggled to not move a muscle.

"Now, Takumo Madoru." says Valk. "Please repeat these words after me. _I, Takumo Madoru..._"

"_I, Takumo Madoru..._" says Takumo.

"_...have done my very best..._" Valk continues.

Takumo repeats, "_...have done my very best..._"

"_...to lead this village properly..._" Valk says.

"_...to lead this village properly..._" Takumo repeats.

"_...to cast aside unhealthy ambitions such as revenge and conquest..._" says Valk.

"_...to cast aside unhealthy ambitions such as revenge and conquest..._" repeats Takumo.

"_...to never show weakness, even if it was necessary..._" says Valk.

"_...to never show weakness, even if it was necessary..._" Takumo repeats.

"_...and to always look to the future with my head held high._" says Valk.

"_...and to always look to the future with my head held high._" repeats Takumo.

"_Now I..._" Valk continues.

"_Now I..._" says Takumo.

"_...Takumo Madoru..._" says Valk.

"_...Takumo Madoru..._" says Takumo

"_...give up my title as chieftain of the Mor'qai..._" Valk says.

"_...give up my title as chieftain of the Mor'qai..._" Takumo says.

"_...and pass it on to my heir..._" Valk says.

"_...and pass it on to my heir..._" says Takumo

"_...for when the sun has set into the horizon..._" says Valk

"_...for when the sun has set into the horizon..._" says Takumo.

"_...my time as chieftain will be officially over._" Valk says.

"_...my time as chieftain will be officially over._" says Takumo.

"Very good, Takumo." says Valk as he then takes the necklace Takumo is wearing off of him.

After that, Valk holds the necklace above his head and in front of the gathering of people, then starts to say some more words we can't understand. We can only assume he's giving the necklace a blessing.

When Valk finishes with that, he turns to face Danorli, then says, "Please repeat these words after me. _I, Danorli Madoru..._"

"_I, Danorli Madoru..._" says Danorli.

Valk continues, "_...swear to lead this village properly..._"

"_...swear to lead this village properly..._" says Danorli.

"_...to cast aside unhealthy ambitions such as revenge and conquest..._" Valk says.

"_...to cast aside unhealthy ambitions such as revenge and conquest..._" repeats Danorli.

"_...to never show weakness, even if it is necessary..._" Valk says.

"_...to never show weakness, even if it is necessary..._" Danorli repeats.

"_...and to always look to the future with my head held high._" says Valk.

"_...and to always look to the future with my head held high._" says Danorli.

"_Now, I..._" says Valk.

"_Now, I..._" Danorli repeats.

"_...Danorli Madoru..._" Valk says.

"_...Danorli Madoru..._" Danorli repeats.

"_...accept the title as chieftain of the Mor'qai..._" says Valk.

"_...accept the title as chieftain of the Mor'qai..._" repeats Danorli.

"_...for tomorrow, when the sun rises from the horizon..._" says Valk.

"_...for tomorrow, when the sun rises from the horizon..._" Danorli repeats.

"_...my time as chieftain will officially begin._" says Valk.

"_...my time as chieftain will officially begin._" repeats Danorli.

"Very good, Danorli. Very good." says Valk as he then puts the necklace around Danorli's neck. Valk then says, "Now, walk to the front of the crowd."

Danorli bows and then does what he is told.

As Danorli walks in front of the people who have gathered, smiling at his mother and Aryll, as well as his friends, Valk then says to everyone, "Everyone, my I present... Danorli Madoru... your new chieftain of the Mor'qai."

The crowd breaks into a grand applause as everyone is incredibly happy for Danorli.

"Way to go, Danorli!" shouts Aryll.

As the applause keeps going, Valk signals the music group to play their song for Danorli now that he the new chieftain of the Mor'qai.

* * *

Back to where Bastille and his group are, it seems they are closer to beginning their invasion.

"Seems they have got their new chieftain, now." says Bastille.

"Should we go ahead and attack now?" asks a man in white armor.

"Not yet." says Bastille. "Let them have a little fun first. After all, we wouldn't to deprive them of any considering they won't have long to live on this world very soon."

"Right." says the man in white armor.

Bastille then grins an evil grin, then says in thought, "Enjoy the time you have, you filthy mongrels. I won't kill all of you as I'll let enough of you live to see the glory that I shall unleash upon this world. That way, you can experience a more fitting and painful death."

To Be Continued in Chapter 4.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Night time has come to the village of the Mor'qai, and everyone is out celebrating with feasts, drinking and dancing all due to Danorli becoming the new chieftain of their village.

Though many people are dancing very wildly, both Aryll and Danorli dancing together seems to be the big focus for everyone else, and the other villagers make room for them to show off their skills. Part of this is due to the fact that Danorli is the man of the hour, but it's also partly because the village knows how much the two like each other. The dancing is very Celtic-esque from our point-of-view as it's the type of dancing one would need to be very energetic to do.

Watching all of the dancing from the feasting table with drinks in hand, especially Danorli and Aryll are Joseph and Takumo who are both smiling about what they see.

"Ah, to be young again." says Joseph.

"I know." replies Takumo. "What I wouldn't do for those days again."

"Indeed." remarks Joseph with a laugh.

They continue to watch Aryll and Danorli dance together when Takumo says, "I may be pretentious in saying this, my friend, but I think your niece and my son really seem like the perfect match, don't they?"

"You know, I actually have to agree with you." says Joseph. "It's funny for me to say that because I've tried to be so cautious with Aryll in her upbringing even with the free spirit she developed by both living in this place and from inheriting her father's optimism. And yet, I can sense no reason to be worried when your son is near her. Maybe it's a form of destiny taking over."

"Probably." says Takumo. "But even if our destinies are set in stone, I still believe it's all what we make of it."

"A very nice thought to have." says Joseph. "But sometimes, I can't help but feel if the heavens aren't even giving most of us a choice in the matter. Of course, I guess that's one of those things where if you think about it too much, you'll get an upset stomach."

Takumo replies, "Something like that."

As Joseph watches his niece having the time of her life and looking so happy, he says, "I'm really glad I came here to this village. I may have originally done it to protect her, and yet, I've given Aryll a great life to live in this world. I just wish the feeling was mutual with her."

"What do you mean?" asks Takumo. "She's not really upset about being with us, is she?"

"It's not that." says Joseph. "She loves you and all of the Mor'qai like family, but at the same time, seeing all of the love the various families have when together like they are, I guess Aryll feels a bit jealous and left out."

"Well, you are family to her." says Takumo. "But I guess with not ever having known her parents before, or her brother who you told me about back then, she would feel alone in this world in some way."

"But now, I feel that somehow, it won't be long before she does meet with her brother, Jason." says Joseph in a hopeful tone.

Takumo, putting on a curious look, asks, "What makes you say that?"

"Aryll has got this feeling that she has a missing half of her." says Joseph after a brief silence. "And she won't be complete without that half to her."

"And you think that half of her is her brother?" asks Takumo.

"Well." Joseph starts to say. "I did tell you back then that Aryll and her brother were twins, right?"

Takumo says to that, "Yeah, I remember you telling me that when you first came here 18 years ago."

"And because the fact they are twins..." Joseph continues. "...they both have a special connection that goes beyond just being of the same blood. It's hard to describe, but they just seem to feel things that normal siblings just can't, if you know what I mean."

Takumo shrugs and says, "I guess so, but then, I was never a twin. In fact, I was an only child, just like Danorli is."

Joseph goes on to say, "Though I've had the joy of knowing my brother where as Aryll hasn't been able to experience that with hers, she must feel a symbiotic connection from a distance to at least know she's not the only child out there. And if that the's case, and her brother is still alive, then it should only be a certain amount of time before they meet for the first time."

Takumo smiles and says, "Well, we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

"I guess that's all we can do right now." says Joseph

Takumo just nods to Joseph.

Just then, Nakima, who looks exhausted from a good bit of dancing, arrives to sit beside Takumo.

"Well, you certainly look to have been quite active out there." says Takumo to his wife.

"Oh, it's been amazing." says Nakima. "I don't think your ascension ceremony was nearly this fun."

"Gee, thanks." says Takumo feeling like he just got insulted.

"Relax, I'm trying to get you in a good mood, honey." says Nakima. "Besides, you should get up there and do some dancing yourself."

"Oh no." says Takumo. "You know I've got two left feet when it comes to that type of thing."

"Funny, you weren't that way back you were to become chieftain." says Nakima playfully nudging her husband.

Takumo sighs then says, "I'll try to dance in a little bit, after I finish my drink."

"That's the spirit!" says Nakima. "What about you, Joseph? You want to get up there and show us how you danced back in your home land?"

"I'll think about it." says Joseph. "Course, I've never been much of a dancing fool, but we'll see."

"Oh, you two." says Nakima with a laugh.

* * *

Back to the dancing going on, as the attention stops being fixated on them, Aryll and Danorli take this time to make it out of the crowd of people dancing in the streets to go to a more remote region of the village that looks to be that of a flower garden as it is filled with a variety of different types and colors of flowers. Both Aryll and Danorli are laughing from all of the fun that they had at the ceremony while holding each others hands.

"Oh wow!" says Aryll. "I've never had that much fun as far as I can remember!"

"Yeah, I know what you mean!" says Danorli.

After a bit of laughing, the slowly stop to catch their breath from all of the activities they did during the party. They then look at each other with deep gazes before Aryll turns to look at the moon.

"The moon sure is full tonight." says Aryll.

"Yeah." says Danorli looking at the moon himself. "And the glow it's giving off is brighter than usual."

After a bit silence between them, Aryll says, "I love looking at the moon while in this particular garden every night. It's just so relaxing and peaceful here."

"I know." says Danorli. "You were so fascinated with how this place lit up in moonlight when you were around 10 years old. I also remember that I would come here to watch it with you, and we'd spend the whole night doing that until I took you home to your uncle before it got too late."

"Yeah, those were some good times we spent doing that." says Aryll.

"Of course..." Danorli begins to say again. "I also remembered when you looked at the moon for a while, you would start to cry a bit. I wanted to cheer you up, but something told me you were in some type of pain that basically said there was nothing for me to do about it."

Aryll looks back at Danorli and says, "You remember very well, don't you?"

"It's hard not to remember when I'm around you." says Danorli somewhat blushing from what he just said.

Aryll looks down and to the left a bit while blushing herself.

"But I guess I am curious, though." says Danorli. "Was the pain you were feeling about not getting to know you're family at all?"

"Somewhat." says Aryll. "But there was something else to it."

"What was it?" asks Danorli.

Aryll goes silent for a bit, then asks, "Danorli, you're an only child, right?"

"Well, my mom and dad have been wanting to have another one, but yeah, I'm an only child." says Danorli. "Does this have anything to do with what you feel when looking at the moon?"

"Yes, in a way." says Aryll as she looks back at the moon. "I feel like I'm not the only child in my family out there. Like I have another sibling, and this one is living. I don't know who their name is, or if they're my brother or sister. But I can feel that they're out there somewhere."

"You've never told me this before." says Danorli. "Why wait to tell me now?"

"I don't know." says Aryll. "Maybe I didn't want you to think I was crazy early on if I did tell you."

"Crazy? You?" asks Danorli. "Far from it, Aryll."

Aryll looks at Danorli with a surprised and slightly embarrassed expression.

"In fact, you're probably one of the most amazing people for me to have ever met." Danorli continues. "Or more like I should say the most amazing woman."

Aryll's face becomes more and more red as she asks, "Danorli?"

"Aryll." says Danorli softly. "Th... there's something I've been wanting to ask you for a while, but I've been too much in denial to admit that it needs to be said."

With her heartbeat increasing and her face still the same shade of red, she says. "Funny... I've been meaning to tell you something I've taken too long with as well."

"Why don't you go first?" asks Danorli with his own heart beating really fast.

"No, you." says Aryll. "You're chieftain now and this is your night."

"O... okay." says Danorli as he tells himself in thought that he's got to do this now. "Aryll... I've been thinking... thinking about..."

"Yes?" asks Aryll with her heartbeat increasing faster.

"Thinking about... who I want to spend the rest of my life with." says Danorli. "About who I want to share my feelings with. Do you understand?"

Aryll just nods as she's almost breathless, so much so she can't speak.

"In that case, I'll just come out and say it." says Danorli then finding unknown courage to say what he must say. "Aryll... I... I love... you..."

Aryll feels like her heart just exploded from what she heard as she's in complete shock, though on the inside, she's incredibly happy to hear those words.

* * *

Taking place where Bastille and his men are, they're all on their own steed and each horse is wearing white armoring. The men in the white armor each have their own helmet on and weapons drawn. In their stances, they look ready to charge into the fray to begin the invasion of the village.

"Should we begin now, milord?" asks a man in white armor.

"Yes." says Bastille after a bit of silence. "I think we've let these filth have enough fun already, so it's time for to get down to his business."

After Bastille finishes his sentence, he takes his left hand and forms a fireball in it.

"And nothing cleanses filth from this world like a little bit of fire." says Bastille sinisterly.

Then, with great force, Bastille throws the fireball towards the village.

* * *

At the same time that was taking place, Danorli then tells a very surprised Aryll, "That's right, Aryll! I love you!"

"Danorli..." says Aryll still in shock.

"So... do you... feel the same way?" asks Danorli.

"Danorli... I..." says Aryll.

"Yes?" Danorli asks again with his heartbeat increasing faster.

"I... I..." says Aryll still stammering.

Just then, something catches both of their attentions and breaks their fixation on one another as they look up into the sky with a look of impending dread.

"Do you smell something?" asks Danorli.

"Yeah... like something is... burning." says Aryll.

Just then, Aryll gasps as she remembers the "dream" she just had about the village getting attacked by a golden griffon.

After that, she turns to Danorli and says out loud, "Danorli! We have to go!"

"What?" asks Danorli.

"Something bad is about to happen to the village!" says Aryll "We have to hurry, or the Mor'qai are going to suffer!"

Though in disbelief, Danorli doesn't want to chance anything as he says, "Right! Let's go!"

Letting go of each others hands, both Aryll and Danorli head back to the heart of the village.

* * *

Back in the heart of the village, the people are still dancing. Just then, one by one, the people stop dancing as they all notice something in the sky. Well they look to see it, it appears to be some type of burning object. Unknown to them, it's the fireball that Bastille threw towards their way.

"What in the world is that?" asks Jimaru.

"Think it could be some type of firework?" asks Zitrini.

"That's impossible." says Erisa. "The fireworks aren't supposed to begin until right before the break of dawn."

"EVERYONE!" shouts Aryll from a distance.

Hearing Aryll, everyone looks to see her and Danorli heading their way.

"Aryll?" asks Joseph as he stands up to see what's going on.

"The village is going to be in danger!" shouts Aryll "Everyone, brace yourselves!"

"Aryll, look!" says Danorli has he points to an object he sees in the sky.

Aryll looks up to see the same fireball the others in the village were looking at.

"Oh no!" shouts Aryll bracing herself for the worst. "Here it comes!"

Suddenly, the fireball begins to fall at an angle, and at great speed. When the villagers all see the fireball come closer, they begin to look afraid. Just then, the fireball slams into a hut, destroying it and setting the whole thing ablaze. Villagers start to panic for their lives.

"An attack?" shouts Takumo. "Right now?"

"Who would do such a thing?" shouts Nakima in horror.

"I'll go get my sword ready!" says Joseph as he runs off.

"And I'll get the guard ready to fight!" shouts Takumo

"We've got to do something!" says Danorli. "Aryll, we've got to get everyone together to put out that fire!"

"Right!" says Aryll. She then says in thought, "But it's not going to be enough. Something far worse is coming, and will be here shortly."

* * *

Back where Bastille and his men are, one of the men in white armor is looking through a telescope at the village. As we see his perspective, we can see most of the villagers have gathered to put out the fire.

"What do you see, Captain?" Bastille asks.

"It looks like they're trying to put out the flames." says the Captain.

"That simply will not do." says Bastille in a sinister tone. "After all, we don't want to make this too easy for them, now do we?"

Bastille then creates another fireball in his hand, and throws it with great force like he did with the first one. He does the same thing again and again until he causes the sky to rain with fire.

* * *

After a while, it looks as if the Mor'qai and Aryll have managed to put out the fire.

"Phew!" says Corzan. "We got that done!"

Danorli smells something and says, "We're not done yet!"

Everyone then looks back to the sky to see a slew of fireballs raining down.

"OH NO!" shouts Aryll.

Danorli and the other Mor'qai panic as they see what is coming to their village.

Suddenly, the fireballs land and hit several huts in the village, destroying them and setting them on fire.

"What madness is this!" shouts Danorli.

"The destruction..." says Aryll. "It's just like from my dream!"

"No way we're going to be able to put these fires out and be prepared for an attack at the same time!" yells Renara.

"Oh, great Wakim, help us." whispers Valk to himself.

* * *

Back to where Bastille and his men are, the Captain, who's watching the action in the village through his telescope, says to Bastille, "Milord, it looks like they don't know what to do right now. Should we go ahead and attack them?"

Bastille goes silent for a bit, but then says, "Very well. Lead the charge. I shall cover you all from the rear with my magic."

"Sir!" says the Captain as he puts his telescope down and looks at Bastille. "Do you think you will have enough to protect us all?"

"Do not worry, Captain." says Bastille calmly. "I brought enough green potions with me to refuel my magic should that become a bother. Now, lead the charge."

The Captain, being reassured, puts away his telescope, draws his sword and shouts to his men, "CHARGE! FOR THE GLORY OF THE GODDESS, HYLIA!"

The knights begin their charge down the hill and towards the village of the Mor'qai. As all the knights have flown down the hill, Bastille rides downward to follow them on his white steed.

* * *

Back in the village, the people are once again trying to put the fires out, but this time to little avail as there are so many huts on fire and so little manpower to put them all out in time.

"This is near hopeless!" shouts Zitrini. "This village will be burned down before we can put any of these huts!"

"Don't lose hope just yet, Zitrini!" shouts Danorli. "We've got to at least try before the guard is assembled!"

"Wait, do you guys hear something coming?" asks Jimaru.

Just then, the people hear something coming towards them, but before they can react, it's already too late for what they heard was the white knights charging towards their village at full speed. Suddenly, the knights stampede into the village, causing the villagers to panic and run.

"FOR THE GLORY OF HYLIA!" shouts the Captain to his men.

Afterwards, the knights charge in and start to attack the fleeing villagers, cutting down as many as possible. Blood flies everywhere as this butchery goes on for a while.

Just as Aryll, Danorli and their friends try to run, Erisa trips and falls down.

"No!" says Erisa.

"Erisa!" says Aryll as her and the others turn to go back for her.

Just then, a knight comes over to Erisa, prepared to slay her in cold blood. Erisa looks at her attacker with a look of both fear and anger.

"What did we do to deserve all of this!" shouts Erisa.

"Because you exist!" shouts the knight. "Prepare to die!"

As the knight raises his sword and prepares to bring it down on Erisa, the others watch in fear as there seems to be nothing that they can do. Erisa closes her eyes and turns her head away in fear of being killed.

Just then, an arrow hits the knight in his neck dead on, causing him to drop his sword.

Looking surprised, especially Erisa, they all turn to see the arrow was fired by Nakima as she has a bow now.

"Leave our people alone!" shouts Nakima to the dying knight.

"Mom!" shouts Danorli out of joy and surprise.

As the knight draws his final breath, he falls off his horse dead.

Jimaru and Corzan go to get and take Erisa back with them as she's still in shock from what was about to happen to her.

"Thank you, Nakima!" says Aryll rushing up to her.

"Yeah, that was great, mom." says Danorli coming up next to Aryll.

"Don't thank me just yet." says Nakima. "We've got to drive these villains out and fast!"

"Leave that to us!" shouts Takumo's voice.

Just then, everyone turns to see Takumo and Joseph arriving while being followed by what could be assumed to be the guard as they're all wearing armors of varying colors of red, blue and yellow, and each armor is designed like a mixture of knight armor and samurai armor. Each member is carrying a spear in their right hand and has a katana in a scabbard by their side. Takumo is wearing very extravagant purple armor designed in the same style and carrying similar weapons, and Joseph is carrying a large claymore-type sword.

"Dad, you got the guard with you!" says Danorli.

"Uncle, what's going on?" asks Aryll. "You're not going to fight them, are you?"

"No time for that now, son. We've got to get you out of here safely." says Takumo.

"What?" Danorli asks.

"You too, Aryll." says Joseph. "You both need to live."

"You can't be serious!" says Aryll. "You're going to need our help!"

"We have don't have time to argue with both of you!" says Takumo. "Two of you, get Danorli and Aryll to the beach and have them take the boats out of here!"

"Yes, sir!" says two members of the guard, one in red armor and another in yellow armor.

The one in yellow armor takes Danorli by his right arm, and the one in red armor picks up Aryll to carry her away.

"No, let us go!" says Aryll. "They need us!"

"Father, please, don't do this!" says Danorli.

"Get them out of here!" shouts Joseph.

The two members of the guard nod and do what they're told.

"NOOO!" shouts Aryll as her and Danorli are carried off towards the road through the jungle.

"The rest of you!" shouts Takumo to the others. "Get to safety, now!"

Not asking any questions, though wanting to, the others do as they're told.

After Aryll and Danorli's friends are gone, Takumo says to Joseph, "You ready, old friend?"

"Ready." says Joseph with a look of determination.

After that, then Takumo shouts, "CHARGE!"

And with that, both he and Joseph, as well as the whole guard charge into the fray to fight off the invading knights.

* * *

Taking place at the beach where Joseph first landed when he brought Aryll to this land, the two members of the Mor'qai guard bring Aryll and Danorli here. Near the water is a few rowboats docked on the shore.

As the red soldier puts her down, Aryll asks, "What's the meaning of this? Why can't we fight with them?"

"Yeah, tell us now!" demands Danorli.

"Lord Danorli, it should be clearly obvious for you." says the yellow soldier. "You are the new chieftain of this village, so we cannot risk your safety during such an attack. You do understand, don't you?"

Danorli grumbles as he knows what they're saying is true, though he doesn't like it as he says, "I do."

"But how do I factor into this?" asks Aryll. "I'm not special or anything."

"According to your Uncle..." says the red soldier. "You are."

"What?" asks Aryll.

The red soldier continues to say, "He didn't give many details about it, but he says that you and another will be important to this world. So for that, you must continue to live for his sake and ours, Lady Aryll."

Danorli then says as he touches her right shoulder, "Come on, Aryll. I don't think we're going to win this argument. Let's just go, okay?"

"O... okay." says Aryll still in disbelief from what she heard the man say.

After that, both Aryll and Danorli get into a rowboat. Just then, the two soldiers push the boat out into the ocean, and once it is, Danorli begins to row away from the land as quickly as possible. Aryll waves good-bye to the two soldiers, who waste no time in good-byes as they head back to the fighting.

* * *

Back in the village where the fighting is going on, the Mor'qai guard is doing its best to hold off the forces of the invading knights, especially with the skill of Takumo and the power of Joseph on their side as they manage to take down a few of the knights. However, the knights are fairly powerful themselves, and it seems that both sides are even in their constant battling up until Bastille starts to fight as many of the Mor'qai soldiers that try to oppose him are set ablaze by his fire magic while other are sent flying away by his blasts of electric magic.

As Bastille sees Takumo fighting against his forces, he puts on a wicked grin on his face, and says to himself, "There's the one I need. Time to introduce myself to him."

Bastille then dismounts his horse, and starts to walk slowly over to Takumo. Many of the other soldiers try to get in Bastille's way, but he either dispatches them with fire magic or electric magic.

After Takumo takes down a white knight with his katana, he hears Bastille's voice from behind him go, "So, we meet at last."

Takumo turns around slowly to see Bastille there giving a wicked smile to him.

"Who are you?" asks Takumo in a demanding tone. "Did you send these knights to invade us?"

Bastille says very calmly, "I did."

"Then that's enough for me." says Takumo with anger. "Prepare to die!"

Takumo charges at Bastille, and tries to strike with his katana, but Bastille uses his staff to block the attack and pushes Takumo's blade away with great force.

"You unclean mongrels are supposed to be good fighters." says Bastille. "Let's see how true that holds before I take your life. Do make it interesting for me."

Takumo growls like a cat at Bastille to intimidate him, but Bastille doesn't even look phased as he just has on a pleasantly evil smile on his face. Takumo charges again at Bastille and tries many times to cut him with his katana, but each slash is blocked and knocked away by Bastille's staff and quick reflexes.

As Takumo tries to go in for a stab to Bastille's chest, he blocks the attack with his staff and holds Takumo's sword in place for a while. Just as it looks like Takumo's about to change up his attack to slash to get around his defenses, Bastille uses this time to kick Takumo in the back of his left knee, which sends him down from the pain to his leg, then Bastille uses the butt of his staff to knock Takumo upside the head, sending him to the ground.

"Pathetic." says Bastille in a disappointed tone. "Utterly pathetic."

However, despite his disappointment in Takumo, Bastille allows him to stand back up to fight again, which Takumo does as he's not finished yet as he growls like a cat again to Bastille, who still isn't phased in the slightest.

"I hope that wasn't all that you had in you." says Bastille. "What you showed me was pretty boring."

After another growl, Takumo goes back to attacking Bastille, but this time, with more powerful swings in hope of breaking his guard. However, Bastille's unnaturally good reflexes allow him to see the moves before they come his way so he's able to parry them with no problem.

"THIS is the might of the Mor'qai?" Bastille asks himself in thought. "This race is as weak as it is unclean."

As Takumo prepares what looks to be a powerful, overhead strike, Bastille uses the butt of his staff to painfully smash his gut, causing Takumo to gag. Finally, Bastille knocks him to his knees by striking him with the head of his staff over Takumo's head.

"Face it, mongrel!" says Bastille. "You can't win against me! My finesse is more than a match for your savage ways!"

"Keep talking..." says Takumo after another cat-like growl. "Karma has your punishment waiting for you."

"Hrmph! I have yet to see." says Bastille in a tone full of snark.

Takumo tries to stand up, and readies his sword to fight Bastille again.

"Please, stay down." says Bastille. "Unclean pigs like you belong in the mud."

"I won't give up so easily." says Takumo under his breath.

"Have it your way." says Bastille right before his uses powerful ice magic to freeze the bottom of Takumo's legs in place.

"What?" shouts Takumo in disbelief. "Magic?"

"That's right." says Bastille with an evil smile. "And I already know you filthy Mor'qai have no magic in your blood to speak of. Just your animal like reflexes and abilities, but that can only carry you so far."

Takumo growls viciously at Bastille.

"You're not in any position to threaten me." says Bastille. "And here's a good reason why."

Bastille then fires three shards of ice that pierce and freeze parts of Takumo's body, with one going to his left shoulder, the other to his right shoulder and the final one hitting him in the area of the stomach that was struck by Bastille's staff. Each shard that hits Takumo causes to cringe in pain. Seeing Takumo in pain just makes Bastille smile in a evil fashion.

"Now then..." says Bastille. "It's time for me to..."

Just before he finishes his sentence, Bastille barely avoids being shot at with an arrow as he dodges his head out of the way before it gets hit. He then turns to his right to see Nakima there with her bow.

"Get away from my husband!" shouts Nakima in great anger as she too is growling like a cat.

Bastille then switches his staff from his right hand to his left and says, "I don't have time for you. Just die."

Before Nakima can ready another arrow, Bastille hits her with a bolt of electricity that sends her flying away, and crashing to the ground. She winces in great pain from the massive shock she received.

"Nakima!" yells Takumo through his pain.

"Now, back to what I was saying before that interruption." says Bastille. "It's time to get what I wanted you for."

Unable to move his arm to attack Bastille due to his arm being frozen in place by his shoulder, Takumo is helpless. Bastille then put his right index finger on Takumo's forehead and he closes his eyes. Just then, the spot that Bastille is touching begins to glow. After a long while of this, Bastille opens his eyes and removes his finger.

"Thank you so much, mongrel." says Bastille wickedly with a smile. "You've just made things easier for me. And to show my appreciation, I'll escort you to the afterlife immediately."

Bastille then forms a shard of ice with his right index finger, and has it pointed right at Takumo's forehead as he prepares to impale him with it.

To Be Continued in Chapter 5.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Just as Bastille is about to land the fatal blow on Takumo, he hears a great roar of anger from behind him that completely gets his attention. So much so that Bastille snaps his head behind him to see the sharp end of a large sword flying straight at him. Forced to abandoned the shard of ice he was going to kill Takumo with, Bastille immediately uses his right hand to create a magic barrier in front of him to stop the sword from impaling him. Though he manages to block the sword, the force from it causes Bastille's barrier to shatter and himself to be exhausted from using such a potent spell.

"What the hell?" asks Bastille out of being frightened.

Just then, he looks forward to see Joseph in front of him and looking at Bastille with a massive expression of anger in his face.

"A Hylian?" says Bastille in thought looking very surprised to see a member of his own race among the Mor'qai. "Did he just try to kill me?"

Joseph then slowly starts to walk towards Bastille with the intent of murdering him. Bastille tries to fire a bolt of electricity at Joseph, but his magic is so exhausted that he can only create a small spark that barely goes anywhere.

"No, my magic is too weak!" says Bastille. "I need to get out of here before he kills me!"

Taking no chances due to being very afraid, Bastille runs away.

Seeing Bastille run, Joseph wants to go after him, but he knows he needs to take care of Takumo first, as he's been gravely injured.

"Takumo!" says Joseph as he runs to his friend. "Are you going to be alright?"

"I don't know." says Takumo painfully. "I've been pretty injured here, but I've got to keep fighting for my people."

"No, you're in no condition to fight, old friend." says Joseph.

"Nonsense! I need... to... fight..." says Takumo before he passes out.

"Takumo!" says Joseph trying to hold his friend up. "Don't you dare die on me! I lost my brother a long time ago, and I'll be damned if I lose you!"

* * *

Meanwhile, as Bastille is running away while chugging down a green potion, he begins to think to himself, "I can't believe I met another Hylian, and in all places, in this dirty village full of mongrels! He even tried to kill me! Was that Mor'qai his friend? How could he be? That's impossible!"

After running for a bit, Bastille reaches a hut and he stops in front of it.

"Well, no matter." Bastille says out loud. "I came here for something, and I'm not leaving until I have it."

* * *

Just then, back in the room where the two guards were guarding the chest, they hear someone coming down the stairs in front of them.

"Is that Lord Takumo?" asks the guard in white armor.

"Don't you mean Lord Danorli?" says the guard in black armor. "He's supposed to be our new chieftain now."

Suddenly, they see the person coming is actually Bastille, and when they do, they ready their weapons.

"Who are you?" yells the guard in black armor.

The guard in white armor follows with, "And how did you find this place?"

"Doesn't matter." says Bastille. "But what does matter is the fact you have something I need."

"You better leave now, or we'll use force against you!" says the guard in black armor.

"Of course I'll leave." says Bastille. "But not without the things I need."

"We warned you!" says the guard in white armor. "Now you leave us no choice!"

Both the guards charge at Bastille, who then uses a powerful jolt of electricity to send both of them flying into the walls they were standing by. As they hit their own sides of the wall, they also hit the bricks that they need to press to lift the gates, which does just that. Both of the guards are unconscious.

As Bastille sees the gate open, he says with an evil smile, "Now that's more like it."

Bastille then walks through the opening to reach the chest that was being guarded.

As he approaches the chest, Bastille says, "Ah, I do believe this is what I've been looking for."

Bastille then opens the chest, lifting the top all the way back. As he looks inside, Bastille just grins an evil grin about what he sees.

* * *

Back in the village, Joseph and Nakima, who's up and about, are tending to Takumo who is still passed out from his injuries. The three of them are in an area where they manage to stay out of danger from being attacked by the white knights. Valk is also with them tending to Takumo.

"Valk, do you know if he'll be alright?" Joseph asks.

"He should be fine." says Valk. "He's suffered worse injuries than this, but we still need to be careful with him."

Just then, Bastille appears back in the heart of the village, and says out loud to get everyone's attention, especially those of his men, "I've got them!"

As everyone looks at Bastille, he holds up what looks to be a scroll and some strange object shaped like a four-sided star with a blue gem in the middle.

As Valk sees these items in his hand, he looks terrified and says out loud, "No! He can't have!"

Joseph just looks at Bastille as if he wants to kill him right now.

The Captain shouts to the other white knights, "Our lord Bastille is successful! Now we can truly seize our destiny! Huzzah!"

"Huzzah!" shout the other knights.

"We're ready to leave this filthy place now!" shouts Bastille. "You all go! I shall follow behind you!"

"Yes, milord!" shouts the Captain.

Doing as Bastille said, the white knights begin to leave the village. Bastille gets to and jumps on his white horse, and begins to follow. Before he leaves the village completely, Bastille takes one last look at the Mor'qai, who all look crippled and defeated.

"Be lucky that those of you who live still do!" says Bastille with an evil grin. "That way, you all can see the glory that I will unleash upon this world, so you filthy vermin can suffer a more painful and fitting death!"

"What did he just say?" says a soldier in anger towards Bastille.

"How dare he?" says another soldier, also with great anger.

Bastille bucks his horse up to prepare to leave and says, "Remember the name of Bastille Varuqar! For that is the name of your executioner!"

After that, Bastille immediately leaves the village.

Joseph, hearing his name, stands up and says, "Bastille Varuqar, is it? Good, now I know who he is. I'LL KILL YOU, BASTILLE VARUQAR! YOU HEAR ME? I'LL KILL YOU!"

Joseph's voice echoes through the village and the land as the scene ends.

* * *

We're taken to the vast ocean as morning is breaking. We're then taken to Danorli and Aryll, who are both asleep in the rowboat. We then get a close shot of Aryll's face as she seems to be in some sort of discomfort. Just then, a flash of white occurs.

Aryll begins to have another dream, this one designed like an oil painting. Aryll finds herself in a beautiful green pasture under an endless blue sky. She smiles about what she sees, but then, the clouds begin to gather and darken slowly until the sky is completely covered, and lightning strikes out of them. As Aryll begins to look terrified, her fears become greater as the pasture turns into a bone-yard filled with various skeletons. Eventually, some spirits shaped like skulls begin to swarm her. Being as afraid as she is, she begins to run from them, but they continue to chase her.

Eventually, Aryll trips and falls down, and she looks behind her to see the skull-like spirits have caught up to her and look like they're about to devour her. Suddenly, a gold light shines from a distance, driving the spirits away in fear. Aryll looks in the direction that the light is coming from, and sees through it what appears to be a person on a horse. Before she can make out who it is, the dream ends as another flash of white occurs.

Just then, we see Aryll trying to wake up, but she touches her head with her right hand as if it's in pain again.

We then see Danorli begin to awaken, and he looks around to see the ocean around him. With a depressed look on his face, he remembers the attack on his village, which also fills him with anger. However, that anger is dispelled as he sees Aryll who is still not up, and he goes to her.

"Aryll?" asks Danorli. "Are you okay?"

"Ugh." says Aryll out of pain as she obviously has another headache.

Danorli then begins to nudge Aryll some to get her to wake up as he says, "Come on, Aryll! Wake up! Please, wake up!"

Aryll's eyes begin to stir, then they open as she looks up at Danorli with a groggy expression and says, "Danorli? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me." says Danorli with a smile of relief.

Aryll smiles slightly at Danorli for a bit before she puts on an expression of pain as she says while touching her forehead, "Ow, my head."

"Another headache?" asks Danorli. "How bad is it?"

"Just about as bad as the last one was." says Aryll. "But I'll be fine."

Danorli sighs out of relief as well as depression and says, "Well, at least you will, thankfully."

Danorli goes back to his side of the boat and just sits there with a look of depression on his face.

Aryll sits up slightly, and though in pain, she seems to be more concerned for Danorli as she says, "What's the matter, Danorli?"

Not saying anything for a minute, Danorli speaks, "Look at the sun, Aryll. It's risen, and I'm supposed to officially be the new chieftain of my village."

"Danorli..." says Aryll. "Is this about the attack on the village?"

After a bit of silence, Danorli says, "I should have stayed there to help them. I'm officially chieftain now, and yet, I'm so far away from my people to even help them. They probably think I abandoned them in their time of need. They might as well think that, because I have."

"No, Danorli." says Aryll. "We couldn't have known such an attack would have happened. It came out of the blue."

"But my people..." says Danorli.

"...will be grateful to know that you lived for them." says Aryll. "Had you stayed, you might have been killed, and then... there wouldn't be a chieftain anymore for the village to have lead them. We'll return soon, and we'll rebuild the village... better than before. I promise."

Danorli looks at Aryll with a smile, and he says, "Thanks, Aryll."

"You're welcome." says Aryll with a smile, though still in pain. "So, don't go beating yourself up over such a thing that was beyond your control, okay?"

"Okay." says Danorli with a nod. He then looks around with a straight face and says, "So, what do we do now? Go look for help, or should we just return back to the village?"

"Well..." Aryll says. "I think we should go look for some help. We don't want to suffer another surprise attack. However... I'm getting a feeling that... help will be arriving very soon."

"Really?" asks Danorli with a puzzled expression as he looks at Aryll. "What makes you say that?"

"I don't know." says Aryll. "Just another dream I had. But if I dreamed up that attack that was to occur on our village, then who's to say this one won't come true?"

"Guess it is better than nothing to go on at this point." says Danorli. "As this time, I'll take a miracle should one come our way."

"Well, let's not sit around and wait, either." says Aryll. "Let's go find some help. We should keep rowing until we can reach this person before they do, and if not them, then anyone will be a blessing."

Danorli nods, "You're right. Let's keep going."

After that, taking hold of the oars, Danorli begins to row the boat.

"So, which direction?" asks Danorli. "We don't exactly have a map or chart with us."

"Any direction not in the way of the island will do nicely." says Aryll. "Let's keep going until we hit land somewhere."

"Sounds like a plan." says Danorli as he continues to row.

* * *

Meanwhile, we're taken to a large ship that seems to be cruising the ocean at a steady pace. The ship itself is colored light brown, and the sails are white with the symbol of a sword and shield on it colored blue on them.

On the main deck of the ship is a young man of 18 years who is resting his arms on the rails of the ship while looking at the sun rising. He's wearing a green tunic (with a belt going around the waist) with a matching floppy, elven-like hat. Underneath his tunic is chain mail and underneath that is some white underclothing. He's got on brown boots and red gauntlets with gold on the top of them. He has a long sword in a brown scabbard and a shield that is colored blue on the front with a red bird design and above it is the same triangle symbol we saw on Joseph's belt buckle (both the sword and shield are being held in place by a brown holster going around the man's body diagonally). The young man has short, blonde hair, and to tell that he's Hylian, he has long pointed ears (each pierced with a silver earring) and deep blue eyes. He has a very handsome face, perhaps even more so than Danorli.

Just then, the young man hears a voice behind him say, "Hey, Link!"

Link looks to see a rather tall man with a dark blue vest, light blue pants, brown belt (on which he carries a small knife in a black scabbard), red wristbands and dark brown boots. He's big and muscular in build, has a bald head and tough looking face with a black goatee and a scar over his left eye. He's also a Hylian himself as could be told from his eye color and ear shape. Though his face is tough, he has a pleasant smile on his face.

Link looks at the man with a calm smile and says, "Hey, Gonzo."

Gonzo walks over to Link and says, "So, you're up early to look at the sun rise again, yeah?"

Link looks back the sun and says, "You know I like to every morning I wake up while riding with you guys on this vessel, Gonzo."

"Yeah, guess I should by now." says Gonzo as he walks over to the railing to put his hands on it. "So... I never did ask you, but why do you come here to look at the sun every morning?"

"Why? Is it bugging you?" asks Link with a small smirk.

"Eh... maybe a little, to be honest." says Gonzo trying not to sound rude. "But seriously, why do you do it?"

Link sighs then says, "I guess because for one reason, it's calming to me."

"Calming?" Gonzo asks.

"Yeah." Link replies. "After all of the dangers I've faced, the troubles I've had to solve and the pain that comes from watching those around me die... I can still find peace in watching the sun rise from the horizon. Guess it's one of the few things that tells me all hope in this world isn't completely lost."

"Really?" asks Gonzo curiously. "I never imagined someone like you to think the world was without hope in it."

"Well, if you ever experienced the dangers I've faced, and knew what I know..." says Link. "I imagine you'd feel the same way."

"Heh, maybe." says Gonzo. "I've experienced some horrors myself, but I guess your tales are more traumatic in their own ways."

"Not to brag or anything, but I believe they are." says Link.

"Eh, I'll take your word for it, then." says Gonzo. "You know, I never figured a pretty boy like you to be a pessimist."

"I'm not pessimistic." says Link. "I've just had a large dose of reality hammered into my head very hard. Nothing more than that."

"Well then, that clears up that bit of info." says Gonzo. "Course, I also never guessed someone like you to be some unstoppable warrior, either."

Link looks at Gonzo with a smirk and says, "What, you think I'd be better off trying to woo the ladies rather than fight?"

"Well, not to mince words." says Gonzo. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Hrmph!" says Link still smiling. "Well, at least I've got the looks, you big jerk."

"Look who's talking, you little punk." says Gonzo as he playfully punches Link on his shoulder.

Both Link and Gonzo look at each other and laugh a little bit.

"Anyway, let's go wake up the other lads so we can start our daily routines, yeah?" says Gonzo.

"Sounds good." says Link.

After that, both of them walk away together to get the rest of the crew of the ship.

* * *

As a good bit of time has passed to where it's late in the morning, the rest of the crew is out working on the ship as they all seem to be dressed for it. Some people are swabbing the decks of the ship while others are tending to the masts and sails. Though a good bit of the people working on the boat right now are Hylian, there a few others of different species, such as those that are a combination of a person and a fish while colored white with a little bit of blue on them, which are Zoras. The other are females that are darkly tanned with rather large noses, gold eyes and bright red hair. These people would be Gerudos. As everyone is helping keep the ship up in good shape, so are Link and Gonzo as both are swabbing the decks with their best of efforts.

Just then, a man with with black hair tied into a small ponytail, a short beard and carrying a large sword on his back steps outside of a room on the ship. He's wearing a chain mail shirt with a white coat over it where the sleeves seem to have been ripped to a point where they're shorter than those of the chain mail shirt, grey pants with a tan belt going around the waist, bandages around his wrists and hands covering all but the fingers, and light brown boots with buckles going around them. He has a brown holster going around his body diagonally from the left shoulder to his right midsection which is what is holding the sword in place. He has an earring on his right ear that holds a small fang belonging to some type of creature, and his left ear is pierced with at least three gold earrings. To finish this all up, he has a blue, bird-like tattoo over his right eye. Like Gonzo and Link, the man is also Hylian. And like Gonzo, the man is also rather built and muscular, and his face is also tough but gentle at the same time.

As each member of the ship saw the man, they saluted him, too whom the man replies in a cool voice, "As you were."

The man then approaches Link and Gonzo, and says, "Ah, Link! Gonzo!"

Both Link and Gonzo look up at the man who is looking at them with a pleasant smile on his face.

"Ah, Cap'n Dunmar!" says Gonzo with a salute.

"Captain!" says Link, also giving a salute.

"As you were, gentlemen." says Dunmar with a chuckle.

Both Link and Gonzo cease saluting.

"So, what do you need to see us for, Cap'n?" asks Gonzo.

"Well, it won't be long before we reach our next destination." says Dunmar. "About time, too. We're running low on supplies and food, so another stop wouldn't hurt. Also, we need to see about finding another job as the remainder of our rupees are pretty much spent."

"If it's no problem, Captain." says Link. "I've still got some rupees with me from my adventures should that ever become a bother."

"That's nice, Link." says Dunmar. "But I couldn't take your money from you. Besides, no offense, but we're going to need a good bit more than what you've made should we never have to worry about not having enough supplies for a while."

"Good point." says Link.

"So, what do we do, Cap'n?" asks Gonzo. "It's not like a job is just going to come out of nowhere for us to take at this point, though it would be nice if we're getting low on rupees, yeah?"

"I know." says Dunmar. "But at this point, I'll take anything that comes our way."

"Me too." says Gonzo.

"Me three." replies Link.

All three men look to be sulking at this point.

* * *

Meanwhile, as that was going on, we're taken back to the rowboat where Danorli is still rowing to find some type of land. Just then, Aryll notices something in the distance.

"Hey, Danorli!" says Aryll. "Do you see that?"

"What?" asks Danorli looking around.

"There!" says Aryll pointing to her left as she could see what looked to be a ship in the distance. "Is that a ship?"

Danorli looks in that direction, and says, "If it is, this could be our lucky day!"

"I hope so." says Aryll sounding a little cautious. "Let's just hope they're not pirates, or anything of that nature."

"After what our village went through, I'll take the aid of pirates any day." says Danorli.

"Don't say that, Danorli!" says Aryll in disbelief.

"Just being honest, Aryll." says Danorli. "Anyway, let's go see if we can't hail them for help."

"Right." says Aryll.

After that, Danorli starts to turn the boat around and row in the direction of the ship.

After a while of rowing, Aryll starts to get a funny feeling in her head.

"This feeling." Aryll says in thought. "Someone's coming that feels... like they're familiar to me."

She then gasps and another flash of white occurs.

We're then taken back to the same dream that Aryll had before she woke up. However, as she sees the same person on the horse giving off the gold light, she gets up and walks to get a better look at the person. After a while, we see that the person looks like that of Link as he's riding a brownish red horse with bits of white hair and a white mane. The gold light Link is giving off is from a thing of three gold triangles on the back of his left hand, with the lower left triangle glowing brightest. After that, the dream ends with another flash of white occurring.

We're taken back to the rowboat where Aryll has fainted again, and Danorli has stopped rowing the boat to try and wake Aryll up.

"Aryll!" shouts Danorli. "Wake up! Wake up!"

However, this time, it seems Aryll isn't showing any signs of waking.

"Oh man, this is not good." says Danorli.

Just then, Danorli sees that the ship is getting closer, and he stops trying to wake Aryll up and starts trying to hail the ship.

"HEY!" shouts Danorli. "Down here! I need help! Down here! Hey!"

* * *

We're then taken back on board as Link, Gonzo and Dunmar are still in thought until they hear Danorli's voice.

"Is that someone trying to hail us?" asks Dunmar.

"I think so." says Gonzo. "Sounds like the voice is coming from the port bow."

"Let's go, then!" says Link.

The three men then rush to the right side of the ship, as do a good number of the other people on the ship, and they look to see Danorli waving his arms and yelling.

"It's a man!" says Link. "It seems like he needs our help. Um... hey, down there! Are you in trouble or something, sir?"

"He heard me." says Danorli to himself. "Uh, yeah! Big trouble! That, and my friend here fainted! Can we board your ship so I can tend to my friend a little better?"

Link then says to Dunmar, "I say we should help them, but it's your call, Captain."

"No, I'm with you, Link." says Dunmar. "As much in a hurry as we are, we can't abandon them."

"I don't know." says Gonzo. "They might be suspicious, yeah?"

"Maybe, but we won't know unless we find out." says Link.

"Link's right. We need to help these people even if they might pose suspicion." says Dunmar. He then calls out to Danorli saying, "Hold on, down there! We'll help you as quickly as possible!"

"Thank you so much!" shouts Danorli. He then turns to the still unconscious Aryll and says, "You hear that, Aryll? We'll be on their ship here very shortly. We're getting help at last."

* * *

After a while, Danorli is on the ship while carrying Aryll in his arms. Just then, he approaches the crew and asks, "Who's in charge of this vessel?"

"That would be me." says Dunmar. "Tell me what you need."

"I need a bed for my friend here, so I can get her looked at." says Danorli. "I know she's still alive, but she won't wake up."

"Very well." says Dunmar. "Take her to my quarters. There's a bed in there for you to lay her down on. Link! Gonzo! Show him the way."

"Aye aye, Captain!" reply both Link and Gonzo in unison.

"I'll go see about getting Vera to help with the situation." says Dunmar.

Dunmar then leaves, and as he does, Link says to Danorli, "Follow us. We'll take you to the Captain's Quarters."

"Thank you." says Danorli.

Link and Gonzo start to walk, and Danorli follows them.

As Danorli walks with Link and Gonzo, he eyes the other members of the crew a little shyly as they all look and talk among each other as if they've never seen a Mor'qai before.

"What is he?" asks a Hylian man.

Another Hylian says, "He looks Hylian, but different at the same time."

"He's not some other form of Sheikah, is he?" asks a Gerudo.

A Zora asks, "You all don't think there are others like him, do you?"

As the conversation continues, Danorli acts very embarrassed as he's the center of attention, but his worry for Aryll doesn't waver.

* * *

Meanwhile, taking place in a room that seems very posh and well-designed, Aryll is lying on a bed in the room while being looked over by a Gerudo. The Gerudo is wearing a red and gold top that criss-crosses around her neck and barely covers her breasts, white Arabian-style pants, red and black gloves and red Arabian-style shoes. Her hair is very long and silky.

Meanwhile, Danorli is standing by Aryll to make sure everything goes alright, and Link, Dunmar and Gonzo are standing behind them both. Though all the men are curious about Danorli, Link mostly has his attention fixated on Aryll.

"Is she going to be alright?" asks Danorli uncomfortably.

"She's still breathing at least, so that's a good sign." says the Gerudo. "Overall, I think she'll be alright. Has she suffered from this before?"

"Very recently, but yes." says Danorli. "I don't know why it happens, but every time she wakes up from this, she claims to have a headache. She says that while she's out, she's dreaming or something, but I've never known dreams to give people headaches."

"Hrmm." says the Gerudo. "I can give her some medicine, but that might be all I can do for her. The rest will be all up to her, okay?"

"Very well." says Danorli. "And thank you for your help."

"It's no problem. As long as I can help." says the Gerudo. "Well, Captain, that's about all I can do for her right now."

"I see." says Dunmar. "Thanks for the help, Vera. We'll continue to watch over her. You may leave now."

"Thank you, Captain." says Vera as she gets up and walks out of the room.

Danorli then sits beside Aryll where Vera was sitting and looks at Aryll and her tranquil face.

"So..." Dunmar starts off to say. "With that out of the way, maybe you can answer a few questions for us?"

"Such as?" asks Danorli.

"Well, for starters, what exactly are you?" says Dunmar. "You appear to be Hylian, but there are a few noticeable differences about you, such as your ears being shorter and your eyes a different color. I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I did just notice that."

Danorli looks at the three men with an expression of worry.

"Yeah, same here." says Link. "Do you mind sharing that with us, as well as why you and this girl were out over the ocean by yourselves?"

Danorli sighs and says, "I guess I can talk about that. But first, could you all tell me who you are, and if I can trust you or not?"

"I guess we could do that." says Dunmar. "I'm Captain Dunmar Ozarus, leader of the mercenary guild, the Azure Blades."

Danorli puts on a look surprise and fear, and says, "Mercenaries?"

"Does that worry you?" Dunmar asks.

"A little, I guess." says Danorli.

Dunmar chuckles and says, "Fear not, for we're pretty noble for mercenaries as we tend to choose those who seem to need the most help, especially if we deem them honorable ourselves. We won't work just for anyone as we choose our buyers."

"I see." says Danorli.

"Anyway, the others with me are my second-in-command, Gonzo, and my right hand, Link." Dunmar continues.

"Now that we've introduced ourselves." says Link. "Please, introduce yourself."

Danorli stands back up and says, "Very well. I am Danorli Madoru of the Mor'qai."

"Mor'qai?" asks Gonzo.

"Never heard of them, myself." says Link.

"Same here." says Dunmar.

"We tend to stay secluded for good reasons." says Danorli. "But that's a long story. Anyway, our village was attacked by these white knights when I was to ascend my father as chieftain of the village, and both Aryll, the girl lying on the bed, and I were forced to escape from our village. Now, we're trying to find some type of help to get us back on the right track and to stop those villains who attacked us."

"I see." says Dunmar.

"You said you were mercenaries, right?" says Danorli. "Please, we'll do anything to have your help. We'll pay you handsomely for your troubles."

"Sounds like quite a tale." says Dunmar. "Let me think about it for a minute."

"What is there to think about?" asks Danorli. "My people have been attacked, and we need some help. If you won't help, who will?"

"Well, the thing is that..." Dunmar starts to say.

As Dunmar talks, Link hears a feminine voice call to him and only him, saying, "Link... help these people. This man's words are true, and his suffering is real. Help them. This is yet another part of your destiny as the Hero of Time."

Though it would seem strange to others, Link wasn't perplexed by this much as he was use to strange things happening, but he feels like he should know the answer as he asks in thought, "Who are you?"

"It is I, the Essence of the Triforce of Courage." says the voice. "I know you possess a great deal of courage, so you must use that to feel in your heart that this is what must be done. Feel it in your heart, Link. You know that this is right. I can feel their pain, because you can as well. Help them, Link. Help them."

"Okay... I will." says Link. "Far be it from me to argue with the Essence of the Triforce, after all."

"Thank you, Link." says the voice of the Essence. "This is what needs to be done right now."

Just then, Link interrupts Dunmar, who is still talking with Danorli, by saying, "We should help them."

"Link?" asks Dunmar out of surprise. "Shouldn't we at least think about this?"

"He's right." says Gonzo. "We can't rush in head on like we've no honor, yeah?"

"I can feel this man is telling us the truth." says Link. "We can trust him. Just go with me on this, okay?"

"Really?" asks Danorli. "You'll help us?"

"I will at least." says Link. "Anyone who's suffered an attack like you have doesn't need to go without being avenged. I can tell that you're innocent in this matter, and because of that, that makes what your attackers did to you that much more heinous."

"Link, are you really sure about this?" Dunmar asks. "No offense to our guests here, but we barely know them or much about them."

"Just like all of the clients we help, are they not?" Link asks Dunmar. "We barely know anything about the people we help, and yet, we've taken on jobs for them, regardless of what we did or didn't know about them."

"He's certainly got a point there, Cap'n, yeah?" says Gonzo.

"I suppose so." says Dunmar as he rubs the back of his head. "But still..."

"Like I said, Captain." says Link. "If you won't help them, I will. Something tells me that doing this is what needs to be done. Besides..."

"What?" Dunmar asks.

"Looking at that girl on the bed." says Link. "She makes me feel something that I've never felt before."

As Link goes to walk over to Aryll, Dunmar asks, "What does she make you feel?"

"Something special." says Link. "Something good."

"Oi, this ain't love at first sight, is it?" says Gonzo. "I thought you were having feelings for a certain Hylian princess, yeah?"

"Of course, I have strong feelings for Princess Zelda." says Link. "But this girl, something about her... I can't describe it. Seeing her makes me feel like I'm not truly alone in this world. Like I want to weep tears of joy from seeing her." Link then asks Danorli, "What was her name again?"

"Oh? Uh... Aryll." says Danorli.

"Aryll..." says Link. "That's a lovely name. It almost feels familiar to me."

Link takes Aryll's right hand in his left, and as he does, a gold triangle symbol glows on the back of his left hand, with one part being brighter than the others.

To Be Continued in Chapter 6.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

As a moment passes after Link grabs Aryll's hand and the triangle on the back of Link's left hand starts to glow, Aryll slowly wakes up as she opens her eyes ever so slightly. Both Link and Danorli take notice of this with surprise.

"Aryll!" says Danorli with pure happiness on his face. "You're awake!"

"Ow!" says Aryll grabbing her forehead with her left hand. "Not so loud. My head's killing me. I feel like I just got trampled by a very large dodongo."

"Oh, uh... sorry." says Danorli. "Are you going to be alright, Aryll?"

"I hope so, but only if this headache goes away." says Aryll. "What happened, anyway?"

"You fainted again." says Danorli.

"Really?" Aryll asks. "It must have been that last dream I had. Where are we?"

"On that ship you saw." says Danorli. "The people on board were nice enough to give us a ride."

"That's good to know." says Aryll as she tries to sit up.

"Careful, Aryll." says Danorli. "You don't want to make your headache worse."

"After fainting again, I believe I've lied down long e..." says Aryll right before she notices Link is there and still holding her hand.

"Huh?" asks Link before he notices that he's still holding Aryll's hand before he immediately lets go while blushing brightly, followed by rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry about that. I really am."

"You." says Aryll pointing at Link. "I've seen you before."

"Huh?" asks Link again as he's surprised to hear this. "You have? Where?"

"In my last dream." says Aryll. "It had you on a horse, and a light shined from your left hand. The source of light was a glowing, golden, triangular symbol."

"Triangular symbol?" asks Link. "You mean the Triforce of Courage?"

"Is that what it's called?" asks Aryll as she stands up, ignoring the pain she's in. "Do you have this... Triforce of Courage? Do you have it in your hand?"

"Yeah, right here." says Link as he shows the back of his hand, making the triangular symbol appear.

Aryll gasps as she sits back down on the bed with a look of complete shock on her face.

"Aryll?" asks Danorli with concern. "Are you going to be alright?"

"I... I don't know." says Aryll with great worry spreading over her face. "This is happening all so suddenly, and it's never happened before for the last years of my life."

"Aryll, everything's going to be okay." says Danorli trying to calm Aryll down.

"Danorli, I'm dreaming stuff that's really happening or happens afterwards!" says Aryll out loud as she looks at Danorli. "First, I.. I dream up that attack on our village! And then, I... dream up someone that really exists and that... I would meet him! This is all impossible, right? Right?"

"I... I, uh..." Danorli stammers as he can't find the words to say to Aryll at this time.

"Danorli." Aryll says with great worry. "What's happening to me?"

"I... don't know." says Danorli as he really didn't know.

Aryll then looks back at Link, then says, "And you!"

"Yeah?" asks Link. "What about me?"

Aryll stands back up and says, "In my dream, I was chased by evil spirits that wanted to kill me. But then... you arrived and drove them back with your golden light. What does that mean? That you're some type of savior or something?"

"I, uh..." says Link not knowing fully how to answer Aryll. "I guess I could be seen as one as it is my destiny that was chosen for me... though to be honest, it's one I'd rather not be burdened with."

After a quick shrug, Aryll sits back down on the bed and looks down, then says, "I knew it. I'm going crazy."

"Don't say that, Aryll." says Danorli. "We'll figure this out. There's got to be a way around this all. I know there has to be."

"You really think so?" Aryll asks as she looks at Danorli.

"Well, if there is, we'll find it together." says Danorli with a smile. "I promise you that."

Going for a while with no expression on her face, Aryll then smiles sincerely and says, "Thanks, Danorli."

"Besides, I have good news for you." says Danorli.

"What's that?" Aryll asks.

Danorli looks at Link and says, "This man here has promised to help us!"

"Really?" asks Aryll with a smile. She then turns to Link and asks, "Is this true?"

"Well..." Link starts to say. "I was hoping to get my fellow mercenaries to join with me, but if they won't help, then I will."

Aryll's expression changes to one of fear as she asks, "Mercenaries?"

"Don't fret, young one." says Dunmar coming up to Aryll. "You can trust us at least, unlike other mercenary guilds. Hello there, I'm Dunmar Ozarus, Captain of the Azure Blades."

Gonzo then comes up and says, "Oi, and I'm Gonzo, second-in-command of the Azure Blades."

"And obviously, you know about Link, my right hand here." says Dunmar.

Aryll just nods, still a little bit in fear of what she just heard about the group that Link was with being mercenaries.

"Anyway..." Dunmar begins to say. "I suppose if Link is willing to go over my head just to help you two out, then I guess I'd better prove myself a real man and help out as well. Like I said, we have our reasons of not wanting to right now, but I guess it would be the best interest of everyone that we do this for you."

"So, you mean to say we're going to have more than just your right hand's help?" asks Danorli.

"Yes." says Dunmar. "I'll try to get some of my more able-bodied men and women to aid us in your assistance. How does that sound?"

"Thank you so much." says Danorli. "We're eternally grateful for this offer, Captain."

"However, depending how big the mission will be, you'll definitely be getting quite a bill from us." says Dunmar. "I hope that's okay with you."

"We'll pay whatever will be required to help us." says Danorli. "I've got a feeling that you're all going to be worth every rupee."

"I certainly hope to live up to your expectations." says Dunmar. "Anyway, we'll let you and your friend get some rest, okay?"

"Thanks." says Danorli.

"Come on, lads." says Dunmar to both Gonzo and Link.

Link, who's been looking at Aryll almost the whole time (and vice versa), says, "Captain, if I may... I wish to speak with these people a little longer, if that's alright."

"What?" asks Dunmar as he and Gonzo stop.

"Yeah." says Link as he breaks his gaze off of Aryll to look at Dunmar. "Just want to get a little more info that might help us. That shouldn't hurt, should it?"

"I suppose not." says Dunmar scratching his head. "Just don't take too long, okay? I imagine these people need their rest, especially the girl."

"Don't worry, I won't be jabbering to them all day long." says Link. "But we do need a little more info like where they live and all that, should we even begin to help them, right?"

"Oh, you need to know where we live?" asks Danorli. "That would be on Ledero Island. I'll show you all later on a map of it."

"Thank you." says Dunmar. "We appreciate that. Anyway, you two take care, and Link? Try not to talk them death, okay?"

Link chuckles and says, "Right, I know."

After that, both Dunmar and Gonzo leave the room.

"So." says Danorli. "What did you want to talk to us about?"

"Well, for starters..." says Link. "I thought I could get to know this girl here better. Your name was Aryll, right?"

"That's right." says Aryll. "It's funny, because I also wanted to talk to you a little bit."

"You sure you want to do that, Aryll?" asks Danorli. "I mean, it's nice they're going to help us, but we did just meet them, so shouldn't we be careful that they don't get to know us too well?"

"Everyone meets someone for the first time." says Aryll as she looks at Danorli. "And when they do, they have to learn something about the other."

"I guess you're right." says Danorli. "I guess I'm just being a little paranoid after the attack our village suffered from."

"Don't worry, Danorli." says Aryll as she pats him on his left knee. "I wouldn't talk to this person if I felt it was risky, okay? I think we can trust him, even if he is a mercenary. Besides... I get the feeling there's more about him than what we can see on the surface. After all, why would I have a dream about him saving me if it was something to worry about?"

"I'd say a dream is just a dream, but with how two of your dreams so far have been predictions of the future, it might not be a bad idea to look into them a little more." says Danorli.

Aryll looks away from Danorli and says, "Yes, we do need to one of these days." She then looks back at Link and says, "But we can worry about that later. Right now... I want to talk to you... your name was Link, right?"

"That's right." says Link. "So, where to begin?"

"Well, for starters..." says Aryll. "I guess you're probably curious about what a Hylian like myself is doing among a race you've never heard of before."

"Actually, to be honest..." says Link. "I think my story is a little similar. Are you both familiar with the Kokiri?"

Both Aryll and Danorli shake their heads to say no.

"Yeah, I figured as much." says Link. "They too tend to stay secluded, or did for a while before certain events played out. Anyway, I believe they're only native to Hyrule as they live in the Lost Woods, situated in their very home of Kokiri Forest. They all look like child versions of Hylians, but the difference is that they stay looking like children for their entire lives and are always accompanied by a fairy companion. I was raised among them for my childhood till I was forced to undertake a journey around Hyrule and eventually learned that I was a Hylian."

"Wow, that's pretty neat I guess." says Aryll. "So, how did a Hylian like yourself get to be raised among such a secluded race of beings?"

"I don't know the whole story as to why." says Link. "But apparently, according to a, uh... source, I was brought to the Lost Woods by my mother back when I was just a baby."

"Really?" asks Aryll as she stands up quickly. "That is so weird!"

"How so?" asks Link.

"Because my Uncle took me away from Hyrule and to the Mor'qai village back when I was just a baby!" says Aryll.

"You don't say?" asks Link.

"Link, can I ask you something?" asks Aryll.

"What is it?" Link asks Aryll back.

Aryll then asks another question, saying, "H... how old are you?"

"Uh..." says Link. "About 18."

"I'm 18 too!" says Aryll. "You don't suppose we could have been taken away from our own parents back when were little at the same time, do you?"

"I guess that depends." says Link. "When is your birthday?"

"Let's see." says Aryll. "According to the current calender... I'd say around at least March 18th."

"I believe that's my birthday, as well." says Link. "Or at least what my friend, Saria told me."

"You're kidding!" says Aryll. "This is getting really weird."

"You're not fooling me." says Link. "You know, being around you like this, Aryll, I think I'm remembering something else... back when I was just a baby. I used to get some memories back from my past that were somewhat fuzzy, but now... being with you, they're becoming clearer than before."

"What is it?" asks Aryll.

"Well, let's see..." Link starts off. "I remember seeing... a man... with black hair, mustache and goatee... he has on gold armor and a gold headband. And he's looking at me with a smile. He's saying something... but I can't make it out. I can't understand him."

"You know what?" asks Aryll.

"What?" Link asks.

"I think I'm getting an image of the same man." says Aryll. "And if I am, then this whole day just got spookier for me."

"Same here." says Link.

Aryll sits on her bed, and Danorli takes her right hand in his hands, then asks, "Aryll, are you going to be okay?"

"I... I don't know anymore." says Aryll. "For some reason, I want to cry right now. To cry as much as possible. But it's not out of sadness... rather... it's out of joy. I can't figure out why."

"Aryll?" Link asks. "If it's any consolation, I feel the exact same way right now."

"Link." Aryll says.

Link asks, "Yes?"

"Can you..." Aryll starts to say. "Leave me alone for a while? I need some time with Danorli if that's alright."

"Okay, sure." says Link. "You know, a little time away from each other might do me some good as well."

"Thank you." says Aryll.

Link then slowly walks to the door to exit the Captain's Quarters. Before he exits after just opening the door, Link turns back to Aryll and asks, "Aryll?"

"Yes?" asks Aryll as she looks at Link.

Link then says with a smile, "When you're ready to help us lead you to your home, we'll be here. From there, we promise to help you with all of our strength. You can count on it."

"O... okay." says Aryll quietly with a smile.

After smiling a bit at one another, Link turns and leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

Aryll then goes back to lying down on the bed and thinks to herself.

"Aryll, are you seriously going to be okay?" Danorli asks.

"I really don't know, Danorli." says Aryll. "Everything is such a blur right now. Good news is at least my head doesn't hurt anymore."

Danorli nods as he says, "That's good to know."

"Of course, with what I'm feeling right now, a headache couldn't even deter me." says Aryll. "Danorli, you don't think that man was... related to me, do you?"

"I guess he could be." says Danorli. "You never know, do you?"

"I hope so." says Aryll with a smile as she sheds a tear. "Being around him makes me feel like I'm whole again. That missing part of me is finally in place, and I don't feel incomplete like I used to for so many years."

Danorli just looks at Aryll with a mixture of concern and pride.

Aryll continues to stare at the ceiling with a smile while shedding tears of joy.

* * *

Meanwhile, with a thoughtful look on his face, Link heads to the main deck of the ship and approaches the railing he was leaning on this morning when he was looking at the sun rising. As Link puts his hands on the railing, he looks at the clear blue ocean as the ship is at a stop as it's anchored to the ocean floor.

"That girl..." Link says to himself. "Could she and I be related? It's too much of a coincidence for her and I to have similar experiences or the same birthday for it to not be possible."

Just then, Dunmar comes over to Link and asks, "Something troubling you, Link?"

Link just stays silent, letting out only a single sigh.

"You know I can't help you if you don't talk to me." says Dunmar.

Link then says, "Captain... you know very well much of my past is shrouded in mystery, right?"

"From what I can remember you telling me, I do." says Dunmar. "About you not knowing your parents and feeling like an outcast to both the Kokiri and the Hylian races. How you were just a baby when your mother died. Does that about sum everything up?"

"At least you paid attention." says Link. "That's good to know. There's so much I don't know, and that I want to. I wonder why this all happened to me, and why it had to happen to me?"

"Something has to happen to someone." says Dunmar. "I guess fate just had all of this in store for you."

"Pheh!" says Link. "Some good friend that fate is."

"I don't think fate is anyone's friend." says Dunmar looking away from Link and at the sky. "It's just something that comes along and plays with our hearts. Nothing more than that."

"You really believe in such a thing?" Link asks.

Dunmar looks down a bit with closed eyes and says, "Heh, not really." Dunmar turns to look back at Link and then says, "But even if it does exist, are you really going to let such a thing get you down right now?"

"I've tried to never let it." says Link. "But now, I'm wondering how futile of a battle it really is at this point."

Dunmar looks at the horizon while leaning his arm on the railing and says, "Your own personal battles can be as futile as you want them to be, my friend. But, even while as futile as they seem, you can still win them."

Link says with a smirk, "Always got to be a front for wisdom, don't you, Captain?"

"I've been around for a while, Link." says Dunmar. "I should at least know a good few things in this world to teach young men like yourself. But even then, there are probably many things I still need to learn on my end. The best I can do at this point right now is to just teach young people all that I've learned while I still learn new things, thus I can teach them even more. Sometimes, I may even have to learn things from those same young people."

"So what you're saying is that, even at the end of the day, you still don't have all of the answers?" asks Link as he looks at Dunmar.

"That..." says Dunmar looking back at the horizon. "And the fact that the world isn't perfect. Even though the goddesses may have created this world to be in a perfect state of balance of power, wisdom and courage... it's still very flawed at the end of the day. But then, when you have something like free will come into play, how could there not be any flaws?"

"I don't entirely know what that has to do with not knowing all of the answers." says Link going back to looking at the ocean. "But I guess they are words to take to heart, so for that... I say 'thank you,' I guess."

"Whatever I can do to help." says Dunmar. He then looks back at Link and says, "So, mind telling me the problem you're facing?"

"It's not really a problem, per say." says Link. "More like it's just something I never expected to have to do with me."

"I bet we're getting back to you wanting to know more about your mysterious past, right?" says Dunmar as he gives Link a small glance.

"For the most part." says Link. "It's about that girl that came with that guy."

"What about her?" asks Dunmar.

"I get the feeling that she and I are related in some way." says Link.

"Really?" asks Dunmar curiously.

"Really." says Link. "She and I seem to have so many similarities and experiences in common that it was getting really scary for a minute. I didn't even mention the fact that she looks so much like me in the face. I don't know what's going on, but this all can't be coincidence."

"You never know, Link." says Dunmar as he looks away from Link and back to the horizon. "You never truly know."

"I hope I find out what is going on here soon." says Link. "If meeting her means my questions will be answered, then that's good enough for me."

"We'll see what happens down the road." says Dunmar. "Until then, don't let it get to you too much, okay?"

"I'll try not to." says Link as he too looks at the horizon. "No promises, though."

Dunmar chuckles and says, "The best answer I'll take right now."

As both men look at the horizon, the scene ends.

* * *

Back in the destroyed village of the Mor'qai as just about every living being there is trying to assess the damage that was done to the place, as well as dealing with those that were killed by the white knights, we're taken to a secluded part of it where Corzan, Jimaru, Erisa, Renara and Zitrini are huddled together and talking to one another.

"I can't believe all of the destruction this place suffered." says Renara. "I'm lucky my parents are alive."

"We all are." says Zitrini. "It's too bad many of our other friends had to lose theirs. There's no justice in this world."

Corzan growls and says, "I'm so mad at those knights, I wish I could just find them so I could smash their faces in!"

"Yeah, right." says Jimaru. "A simple berry-picking guy like you going up against those monsters? You don't even know how to fight, let alone smash a guys face in."

"So says you, the carpenter's son." says Corzan. "You've got a lot of nerve to insult me and my talents."

"At least I actually use tools that could hurt people, unlike you." says Jimaru.

"You take that back!" shouts Corzan.

"Guys, guys, guys!" says Renara. "This is no time to fight amongst each other. Those knights who attacked us are our enemies, not ourselves."

Both Corzan and Jimaru look away from each other and go, "Hrmph!"

"He started it." says Corzan.

"Don't you dare continue it." says Jimaru to Corzan.

"Keep talking, pal." replies Corzan as he looks back at Jimaru angrily.

"Or what?" asks Jimaru as he looks back at Corzan angrily.

"I don't know, but I'll think of something." says Corzan.

"Don't hurt yourself." says Jimaru with a massive amount of snark.

"Why you?" says Corzan as he growls.

"Ugh!" says Erisa as she facepalms with her right hand. "These two are worse than children!"

"Hey!" shouts both Corzan and Jimaru in unison as they both look at Erisa.

"Not to mention without Aryll and Danorli around, especially Danorli since he's supposed to be our new chieftain..." Zitrini starts to say. "There's no way we're going to be able to keep ourselves in order, much less the entire village."

"Yeah, and don't forget with Lord Takumo out of commission, we're pretty much up the creek without a paddle." says Renara.

Both Corzan and Jimaru drop their angry expressions and put on sad looks.

"I wonder how Danorli and Aryll are doing right now?" asks Corzan.

"Yeah, and I wonder why Aryll was made to leave with Danorli?" asks Jimaru. "I mean, it's no surprise why Danorli had to leave, but why Aryll? Why did Joseph make her leave like that? I mean, besides being one of the only two Hylians that live with us here in our village, there's nothing really that special about Aryll."

"We should worry about that for later." says Erisa. "Right now, we've got to figure out what to do about those knights that attacked us. I can fight a little bit due to my bodyguard training, but even that might not be enough since I'm still a journeyman to some degree, so we can't rely on my skills to deal with their power."

"So, what's the next best thing?" asks Zitrini.

Thinking about it, Renara snaps her fingers and says, "I have an idea! We can find those knights, and spy on them!"

"Spy?" asks Zitrini.

"Yeah, spy!" says Renara. "We're Mor'qai, so we should be far stealthier than those barbaric knights with their clanking armor and loud footsteps. That way, we can report back here and find out what they're doing, so we can stop them for good."

"You make it sound so easy." says Jimaru.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" asks a curious Renara.

"What I mean is that these guys are more than likely professionals, so they wouldn't leave themselves open to any spies that could learn what their motives are." says Jimaru. "They probably know to cover their trails and scents to keep us from finding them, and even if we did find them, who's to say they wouldn't keep a strong lookout for anyone that did try to spy on them? We'd be dead meat in no time."

"That all may be very true." says Renara. "But we've got to at least try. If we don't, our village may never be avenged."

"We could always just wait for Danorli and Aryll to get back, and for Lord Takumo to awaken from his coma." says Corzan

"What if we can't wait that long?" asks Renara. "What if they plan another attack on us, and we're not able to do a thing about it?"

"As much as I may not be for Renara's conclusion-jumping, I'm with her on this one." says Erisa.

"Why thank you, Eri... hey!" says Renara happily to Erisa at first before turning to a look of dismay.

"Just speaking the truth about you." says Erisa. "But you're right, we need to do something to make sure this never happens again."

"So, how do we go about this, Erisa?" asks Zitrini. "You are the oldest among us here, and most experienced, so what do we do?"

"Okay, here's what we do..." says Erisa before the group huddles together to talk about the plan.

* * *

As we're taken away from the village, we then see the white knights with Bastille leading them through a dense jungle-like area. As they stroll slowly through it, they find a good spot for camping.

"Hrmmm..." says Bastille as he looks around. "We'll stop here tonight, and set up camp."

"Milord, are you sure we shouldn't continue on?" asks the Captain.

"Yes, I'm very sure." says Bastille. "I don't want you all to tire out so quickly, so you all need to get plenty of rest before we find the first shrine."

"Very well, milord." says the Captain. He then says to the other knights, "Alright, we break here for right now, so let's get to it and set up the camp!"

As the knights dismount and prepare to set up the camp, Bastille takes out the scroll and looks at it very carefully while giving a sinister smile.

"According to this scroll, the first shrine shouldn't be too much farther." says Bastille. "It's only a matter of time before I reawaken the ancient power that sleeps between these four islands, and once I do, I shall be seen as the true savior of this world. Not even some mythical Hero of Time is going to take that glory away from me."

To Be Continued in Chapter 7.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Back on the ship belonging to the Azure Blades, Link is practicing his sword-fighting skills on the rear of the ship.

Just then, from behind Link, a voice of someone trying to sound cool says, "Hello there, Link."

Link looks behind himself to see a Zora male standing there giving him a smirky smile. He's wearing a thing of brown leather armor over the left part of his chest, a brown belt that holds a few small knives on it and white bandages around his hands and feet that only wrap the mid parts of them. Unlike most Zoras out there, he's colored a slight mixture of blue-green and white and has several tendrils coming out of the back of his head rather than a long fish tail. For weapons, he's wielding dual cutlasses with a large cutlass in his right hand (which he's resting the dull edge of on his shoulder as to look cool) and a smaller one in his left that he's holding upside-down and by the quillons on the dull edge side.

"Oh, hey there, Sokulo." says Link.

"Hey there?" says Sokulo looking like he's been insulted. "That's all you have to say to your ultimate rival is just 'hey there?'"

"What?" asks Link. "I greeted you. Is that not good enough?"

"Of course not!" says Sokulo. "There's just no power or soul in such a half-hearted greeting!"

"Well, not to make you sound like a hypocrite, but you did just give me a similar greeting." says Link giving Sokulo a smile that says, "Like you're one to talk."

"Uh, yeah, well... that's different when it came from me." says Sokulo saying in a cool-sounding tone as he's trying to make himself sound like he's not in the wrong. "At least my greeting had charisma in it. Your greeting was just flat and lifeless. No sense of spirit to it whatsoever."

"Uh-huh..." says Link finding Sokulo to be full of crap. "And what exactly would have been a more appropriate greeting for me to give you?"

"Let me think about that." says Sokulo who then puts on a thoughtful gesture.

"This will take forever." says Link in a quiet enough tone to where Sokulo couldn't hear him.

Though he still heard Link, Sokulo ignores that quote as he then says, "Ah! I've got one!" Sokulo clears his throat, then says in a dramatic tone, "'Ah, Sokulo! My ultimate rival of all time! How do you do today, my friend? Tis a perfect time for us to spar like we usually do!' You know, something like that."

Link just gives Sokulo a look that says, "Just what the hell was that?"

"I know! I know!" says Sokulo with a jovial smile. "It's an amazing greeting, full of charisma and spunk! Only a genius in the world of charisma could come up with such a thing, couldn't I?"

"Yeah, except..." says Link.

"Except what?" asks Sokulo.

"I've got two problems with your greeting." says Link. "One, it's really flamboyant and unnecessary. And two, if you wanted to spar with me, you could have just said so."

Sokulo just sighs and says, "With that hilariously low amount of charisma of yours, it's a wonder how you got engaged to Princess Ruto."

"Maybe because I saved her from a dangerous monster that was plaguing Lord Jabu-Jabu that time, and you didn't?" asks Link. "You know, that might have had something to do with it. Just saying."

Sokulo puts on a confident smile and says, "Hrmph! Well, true as that may be, I still need to win against you if I am to win the heart of Princess Ruto!"

Link sighs himself and says, "Look, Sokulo, I've said many times in the past; if you want Princess Ruto for yourself, you can have her. I'd rather be with Princess Zelda, anyway."

"No, no, no!" says Sokulo waving his left index finger at Link while still holding his cutlass. "That's not good enough! I need to beat you fair and square in a spar to prove my worth to Princess Ruto! We know how giddy she is over you, just like how giddy Lord Darunia of the Gorons gets giddy when he addresses you as his brother! See where I'm getting at?"

"Unfortunately, yes." says Link.

"Then you know this must be done, my friend!" says Sokulo. He then readies his swords for combat, and says, "So, get your blade ready as we prepare to do this... like real men!"

Link sighs again and says, "Fine, here comes your daily butt-kicking."

Link readies his sword and shield.

Just then, we hear Gonzo's voice go, "Oi there, Sokulo!"

Sokulo drops his attack pose, as does Link, and looks behind himself to see Gonzo standing there.

"Oh, hi there, Gonzo!" says Sokulo as he fully faces Gonzo.

"You're not pestering Link again for another spar, are you?" asks Gonzo.

"What?" asks Sokulo with an innocent smile. "Oh, that is ridiculous! I've never heard such a..."

"Yes, he was." says Link interrupting Sokulo.

Sokulo grunts with a frumpy-looking face and says, "You didn't have to say it that way, Link."

Gonzo sighs and says, "I know you've lost to him every time on land, and even in water, Link holds the record against you, but you're going about it all wrong. You've got to be more calm and collected about this while still maintaining a burning spirit. Going all gung-ho like you do is what's causing you to lose over and over again. You understand, Sokulo?"

"I do." says Sokulo. "But hey, I've just gotta' be me. YOU understand, Gonzo?"

"Sadly, how could I not?" says Gonzo rubbing his brow. "Anyway, we've got more important things to do than your spar with Link."

"What is it, Gonzo?" asks Link.

"Those two guests of ours are ready to show us the directions to this Ledero Island." says Gonzo. "So, we've all been summoned by Cap'n Dunmar to listen to what they have to say."

"Right, we're coming." says Link.

"Alright, we'll be waiting for you two." says Gonzo before he walks away.

Sokulo sighs, but then looks back at Link with a smile and says, "Well, some other time then, huh, Link?"

"I envy you, Sokulo." says Link.

"Really?" asks Sokulo with a look of surprise. "And how's that?"

"It must be fun being as innocent and light-hearted as you are." says Link.

"Like I said, my friend." says Sokulo putting on a cool pose. "I've got charisma to burn."

As Sokulo walks away in a cool-looking fashion, Link says to himself with a smile, "At least you do. Stay alive, Sokulo. Life is boring without you."

Link then follows Sokulo.

* * *

As we're taken back to the main deck of the ship, Danorli and Aryll, who have stepped outside of the Captain's Quarters, are with the Dunmar and the other mercenaries looking at a map that Dunmar has with him showing all of the lands in the world.

As Gonzo arrives, while being followed by Sokulo, who is being followed by Link, Dunmar takes notice of the three of them arriving and says with a smile, "Ah, glad you were all able to join us. Danorli here is about to show us the direction to Ledero Island."

"As Gonzo told us." says Link as he, Gonzo and Sokulo arrive near the group. "So, let's hear it."

"Very well." says Dunmar. "Danorli, please point us to the direction of your home."

"Alright," says Danorli. "It should be around this quadrant right here." As Danorli points to the part of the map that shows his home island on it, he follows up with, "There should at least be a beach on the east side of the island where we can dock at. That's the closest area to my village."

"That so?" asks Dunmar. "Very well, we'll head there right now. In the meantime, it's time to see about who all will go with us to the island to see about finding these people who attacked your village. Naturally, Gonzo, Link and myself will come along, but I do at least need four others to come with us on our mission."

"So, who should we bring with us?" asks Link.

Dunmar thinks for a minute, and says, "Well, we'll need someone good with medicine, so we've got to at least bring Vera with us."

Hearing Dunmar, Vera says, "So, I'm to come with you? You can count on me, Captain."

"I'm sure I will, Vera." says Dunmar. "Also, since we're dealing with islands, I will definitely need an expert in underwater combat should it ever come into play. Link has his Zora mask, but that might not be enough. And seeing as he's my best man to deal with such types of battles, I might as well bring along Sokulo."

Giving a big, jovial grin, Sokulo says, "You've made a wise choice, Captain! There will be no place these scum will be able to use to hide from me and my blades!"

"I should hope not, Sokulo." says Dunmar. "Now, I need another combat expert, especially someone adept at taking on multiple foes at once. So for that, I'll need Tarorin to come with me."

"Aye, my staff is yours to command, Captain!" says a stout Hylian man with a bushy white beard and old face. He's wearing a red dew rag, grey sailor's coat, white shirt that's buttoned up only to the very top of his chest, tan pants with a black belt around the waist and old, brown boots.

Dunmar nods to Tarorin, then continues to say, "And finally, I'll need someone with magnificent eye sight to have as a lookout."

Hearing this, a teenage Hylian boy a little younger than Link climbs down from the crow's nest of the ship, and says, "You say you need a lookout? I'm your guy for that job, Captain!"

The boy has chestnut-brown hair that has a messy look to it, and he wears a white headband, a striped sailor's shirt of cyan and white, a brown holster that goes around his torso from the right shoulder to his left midsection, baggy, light brown pants with a black belt going around the waist (which has a dagger on the right side) and black sandals.

"Faer?" asks Dunmar.

"Yeah, take me with you!" says Faer. "You know my eyesight is the best among all of you! Please, let me come along! I promise not to be a burden!"

"Well..." says Dunmar putting on a thoughtful look.

"Cap'n, you can't be serious letting a little guy like him join." says Gonzo. "He's got the best eyesight, sure, but he barely has any fighting ability. He'll become a major hindrance, yeah?"

"Come on, I know I'm not that good of a fighter, Gonzo." says Faer. "But I guarantee you that no one will be able to see your enemies coming at them faster than I will! So, with that said, you've got to let me join, please!"

Dunmar just puts on a thoughtful expression.

"He's got a point, Captain." says Link. "The rest of us all may be trained in fighting, but with Faer by our side, we should have a greater advantage to know when the enemy is coming sooner."

"Well, good as that may be..." continues Gonzo. "It means we'll also have to end up protecting him from all harm that might come to him, yeah? I just don't think it's worth the pain to do something like that. Even the Cap'n will back me up on that."

"Actually, Gonzo..." Dunmar starts to say. "I'm with Link on this one. Protecting Faer might seem like quite a task, but aside from having a good lookout with us, it also might give Faer some experience while out in the field. After all, it is one of the fastest ways to learn these things."

"I still don't think this is a good idea." says Gonzo. "It's just too much of a gamble for us to take."

Dunmar then comes closer to Gonzo and says to him as he puts his left hand on Gonzo's right shoulder, "Gonzo... do you know how I was on my first field mission?"

"No." says Gonzo. "How?"

Dunmar gives a brief pause, then says, "Green as a leaf, and just as shaky. You don't get good at fighting by staying indoors."

Thinking about this, Gonzo says, "Alright, Cap'n. It's your call, but be warned... this will be on your head. You raised Faer from a small boy after all, so it wouldn't be very fatherly if he gets killed on you in battle, now would it?"

"Well, if I raised him well enough..." Dunmar starts to say. "Then, speaking modestly, we shouldn't have much to worry about with him, right, Faer?" He looks at Faer as he speaks the last part of his sentence.

"Thanks, Captain!" says Faer. "I won't let you down! I promise I won't!"

"We'll see, Faer." says Dunmar. "Do consider your mission with us being a crash course in what it takes to be a proper mercenary."

"Right!" says Faer as he gives Dunmar a salute. He then looks at Link, and says, "And thank you, too, Link."

"Well, what can I say?" says Link. "Someone has to step up for the underdogs in this world."

"Anyway." says Dunmar. "If we're all done here, let's head out for Ledero Island. Everyone, back to your posts! Raise the anchor! Set the sails! We're shoving off, now!"

"Aye aye, Captain!" says the other mercenaries.

"Danorli, you give the directions to our helmsman, Borru." says Dunmar.

"Right." replies Danorli.

As everyone goes back to their duties, Link heads over to the railing at the front of the ship. After he does, Aryll appears beside him on his left. She looks at Link shyly.

Link turns to see Aryll, and says, "Hi, Aryll. Did you need something?"

"Oh, uh, well..." Aryll stammers. "I just thought that... you might like to have a little company with you, that's all."

"Is that what you thought?" asks Link. "I wasn't expecting any, but since you're here, I suppose it would be nice to have."

"Thank you." says Aryll with a bright smile.

As Link goes back to looking over the ocean, Aryll does the same.

After a while, Aryll reaches her right hand over and takes Link's left hand in it.

As Link feels Aryll's hand grabbing his, he looks at Aryll with surprise, and she looks back at him with a kind look on her face.

"Are you okay?" asks Link.

"I think so." says Aryll looking down slightly. She then looks Link back in the face and says, "I don't why I'm feeling this way around you, but for some reason, it feels right. Almost as if this was how things were meant to be."

"Yeah, I feel the same way, myself." says Link. "And I have no idea why."

"If it's okay..." says Aryll. "Can we stay like this until we reach Ledero Island?"

Link gives Aryll a smile and says, "Sure, if that's what you want."

Aryll nods to Link and says, "Thank you, Link."

After that, taking hold of Aryll's hand, both Link and Aryll look out over the ocean as the ship continues to sail its way to the island.

* * *

As time has passed, the ship makes its destination as it approaches the beach of the island and the crew has it dock near it, close enough to where the ship is almost touching land.

"That should do just fine." says Dunmar. "At least that way, we can get the horses on to dry land without them getting too wet. Anyway, let's get on dry land while some of us are able to."

* * *

Afterwards, Link, Dunmar, Gonzo, Danorli, Aryll, Vera, Sokulo, Tarorin and Faer all walk off of the ship and onto the beach while riding their horses. Link, of course, is riding his faithful steed, Epona.

"Okay." says Danorli. "The road through this jungle is the path we need to take to get to the village."

"Seems obvious enough from here." says Link.

"I sure hope my uncle is okay." says Aryll with a look of concern.

"I know." says Danorli sharing the concern. "I hope the same for my mom and dad."

"Well, let's not dawdle all day." says Gonzo. "The sooner we get there, the sooner we'll find out, yeah?"

"Exactly." says Dunmar. "Anyway, Danorli, both you and Aryll lead the way to your village. We'll all follow close behind."

"Right." says Danorli.

After that, both Danorli and Aryll ride off, while Link and the mercenaries follow them down the road.

* * *

Back in the ruined village, Joseph, Nakima and some of the remaining Mor'qai guard are tending to the dead, all of whom are covered with white sheets over their bodies.

"Well, the number of deaths tallies up to at least 60 from the looks of it." says Joseph.

"So horrible." says Nakima. "Most of them were women and children, too. We Mor'qai have faced prejudice and hatred before to the point we were merely threatened with violence, but we've never actually had people come to attack us in our own home. Just what brutes were those people to try and do this to us?"

"I don't know." says Joseph. "But I can tell you this, if they show up again, they will get no mercy from me at all."

"I should hope not." says Nakima. "They truly deserve none for what they took from us, as well as... nearly taking my husband's life." Nakima then starts to cry a little.

"Don't worry, Nakima." says Joseph as he touches Nakima on her right shoulder with his left hand. "We're going to find something that will make those butchers pay for what they did to this village, and to you all. I don't know when it will arrive or what it will be like, but we'll find something or someone to give us an edge. Karma will happen to those who least expect it, after all."

"I hope you're right, Joseph." says Nakima. "I do hope you're right."

Just then, Valk approaches Joseph and Nakima. As the both of them see him, Joseph asks, "Wiseman Valk, how is Takumo doing?"

Valk puts on a pleasant smile and says, "His life is still his own. He's resting comfortably."

Nakima breaths a sigh of relief and says while smiling through her tears, "Thank you so much, Valk."

"Still, it probably will be a while before he wakes up anytime soon." says Valk. "So with that said, I hope another attack doesn't occur, for I don't know if we could protect him properly."

"Yes, even with my abilities, another attack from those white armored beasts would be too much for me." says Joseph. "But you know me, I'd at least try my best against them. Plus, with my anger towards them, not even their numbers could threaten me to lay down my guard."

"Let's hope you can use that anger into something useful for the entire village and not just to make yourself feel better." says Valk. "Vengeance is, after all, a path not many should take if they're to simply deal with those that have wrong only themselves."

"Believe me, Valk." says Joseph. "While I myself am hurt from this, I do know it's these good people I've lived with for 18 years that deserve justice. I understand that much back from my days as a knight of Hyrule."

"Well, naturally, I never doubted you." says Valk. "But you can't be too sure of these types of things, now can you?"

"No, I suppose not." says Joseph.

Just then, a member of the Mor'qai guard comes running and shouts, "Lady Nakima! Lady Nakima!"

Nakima looks at the approaching guard, and as he comes to a stop, Nakima asks him, "What is it?"

"We have someone approaching us from the east!" says the soldier. "At least nine people riding on horses. Two of the scents are familiar. The others we don't know of, though judging by the smell, we can tell one of them is a Zora."

"Do you think they could be hostile?" asks Joseph.

"We don't know." says the soldier. "But if they are, we're about to get the guard ready for their arrival."

"Do that!" says Joseph. "I'll join with you all!"

"Right!" says the soldier before going to do his duty.

"My lord, another attack?" asks Nakima. "We can't afford one right now!"

"Let's not be hasty in assuming that." says Valk. "While it does pay to be cautious right now after what we suffered, we still need to be more civil about this than our enemies were. That is what sets us apart from them, after all."

"Even so, we're still getting prepared just in case another attack does come." says Joseph. "Nakima, Valk, get the civilians to safety, and I will go meet with the guard and help them should another attack come to us."

"Right." says Nakima.

Joseph then runs off to meet with the guard.

* * *

After a while, a blockade of Mor'qai soldiers has been formed with Joseph standing in front and armed with his claymore while another Mor'qai soldier stands beside him.

"How much father are they?" asks Joseph to the soldier beside him.

"They're almost here." replies the soldier.

"In that case, ready your weapons, everyone." says Joseph

As everyone in the guard gets ready to draw their weapons, the sounds of horses galloping comes closer and closer. After a while, we see the oncomers are none other than Link and the mercenaries, along with Danorli and Aryll.

As he sees the Mor'qai soldiers and Joseph are ready to attack, Gonzo says, "Oi, seems like they've been expecting us, yeah?"

Aryll sees that Joseph is out in front of them, and she shouts with a big smile, "Uncle!"

"Aryll?" shouts Joseph. "Aryll, is that you?"

"Uncle, I'm back!" shouts Aryll.

Aryll quickly dismounts her horse, and runs to Joseph. Joseph, seeing Aryll coming to him, drops his sword and prepares himself for Aryll's embrace. When she gets close enough, Joseph and Aryll hug each other tightly.

"Aryll, you came back!" says Joseph.

"Uh-huh." says Aryll. "You know you couldn't keep me from you forever."

Joseph chuckles and says, "No, I certainly cannot."

After a bit of hugging, Aryll pulls herself away slightly from her uncle and gives him a stern look, then says, "But why did you make me leave the village like that? And what did that soldier mean that I'm so special?"

"Well, uh... you see..." Joseph tries to say while finding a good excuse to tell his niece.

"I'd like to know that, myself." says Danorli, who has also dismounted from his horse and is approaching Joseph.

"Danorli!" says Joseph. "Good to see our new chieftain is still alive, along with my niece."

"It's thanks to these people behind us who brought us back." says Danorli.

"Really?" asks Joseph as he sees Dunmar and his band of mercenaries. He then says with a smile, "Well, thank you all for looking after our new chieftain and my niece."

Dunmar, who's had his eye on Joseph for a while, says, "Wait a minute... you couldn't be!" He then dismounts his horse and walks up to Joseph himself.

The soldiers ready their guard, which causes Dunmar to stop approaching.

"Relax, everyone." says Joseph. "I think he means well. He did bring Aryll and Danorli back to us."

Hearing this, the soldiers rest their arms.

"So, who are you?" asks Joseph.

"You... you don't remember me, do you?" asks Dunmar.

Joseph just shakes his head to say no.

"That's a shame, because I remember you well, Joseph Artemis-the Black Bear of the Mystic Knights." says Dunmar.

Joseph is surprised to hear that Dunmar knows his name as he asks, "Who are you?"

Aryll is even more surprised as she's looking back and forth between Joseph and Dunmar, wanting to know what's going on. Link is also in deep shock as he never imagined that his Captain knew an actual knight, let alone know one personally.

"It's me, Joseph!" says Dunmar. "Dunmar Ozarus-the Blue Hawk!"

"Huh?" asks Aryll.

The soldiers act as clueless about this as they actually are, as well as Danorli.

Joseph then puts on a look of surprise, and says, "Wait a minute! You're... THAT Dunmar?"

Dunmar laughs with joy as he says, "Yes, it's me, Joseph! Oh, it's been so long, my old friend!"

"Indeed, it has!" says Joseph putting on a big smile as he and Dunmar wrap each other in a big hug.

"What in the world is going on here?" Link asks Vera and Gonzo.

"How should I know?" Vera replies.

"Nary a clue myself." Gonzo says.

Danorli then asks Aryll, "Do you know what this is all about?"

"I wish I did." says Aryll.

After they cease their hug, both Joseph and Dunmar look at each other with big smiles.

"Joseph, you old dog!" says Dunmar. "You look great, man!"

"And you've changed so much, old friend." says Joseph. "I didn't even recognize you for a minute there."

"Oh a lot has happened with me." says Dunmar. "More than you could ever imagine."

"I'll have to hear all about it." says Joseph.

Dunmar look of happiness changes to one of shock as he then says, "But wait, if this girl that we found here is your niece, and her name is Aryll, then that means..."

"Yes, she is who you think she is." says Joseph.

"What are you two talking..." says Aryll before she's wrapped in a big hug from Dunmar. "Hey, what's the big idea, Mr. Dunmar?"

"Oh, it's been so long since I saw you, Aryll!" says Dunmar. He then lets her go from his hug and takes her by the shoulders, then says, "Last time I saw you, you were just a baby!"

Aryll looks at Dunmar funny before she shakes her head in disbelief and says, "What?"

Even Danorli has a big look of shock on his face.

"That's right, Aryll!" says Dunmar. "I remember you from so long ago! Which means that if you're that same Aryll... and my right hand is who I believe him to be..." Dunmar then just gives an excited laugh.

"What is it, Dunmar?" asks Joseph.

"This day is just full of wonderful surprises!" says Dunmar. He then turns to look at Link, and says, "Link! Come down here and meet this man!"

"Link?" asks Joseph, who then says in thought, "It couldn't be."

"He asked for you, Link." says Sokulo.

Not saying a word, Link dismounts Epona, and walks up to Joseph slowly.

"Let this man have a look at you, Link." says Dunmar calmly.

As Link comes to a stop, Joseph approaches Link, grabs him by his shoulders and looks him in the eyes. Suddenly, as we get a first-person view from Joseph's perspective, the image of the 18 year old Link flashes to that of a baby boy wearing white pajama-type clothing that looks just like him as he looks very happy as he's giggling. The image flashes back to the 18 year old Link.

"What?" asks Link.

As we get a look at Joseph's face, his expression is a combination of surprise and joy as he asks, "Jason?"

"Huh?" asks Link in a confused tone. "What did you call me?"

Joseph lets go of Link and backs away slowly as he's incredibly stunned, then says, "I can't believe it. I truly can't believe it! It's really you, Jason! My nephew!"

"What?" both Link and Aryll asks out of shock.

"Wait a minute!" asks Aryll. "If Link is supposed to be your nephew, and I'm your niece, does that mean what I think it means?"

"That's right, Aryll." says Joseph with a big smile. "This man here is your brother. Your twin brother."

Everyone but Joseph and Dunmar are in complete shock, especially Link and Aryll who just stand there and look at one another.

To Be Continued in Chapter 8.


End file.
